Your Choice
by JokertheMatrix
Summary: A game named 'Your Choice' is sent to multiple nations, and soon enough, they find themselves sucked into its world. But since it's a video game, all they have to do is beat the boss and they're out, right? That would work if the game was an RPG or Action-Adventure game or something, but it's not. It's a dating sim. Multiple Pairings. Rated T for language and other things.
1. Day 1: The Arrival

_Posted this story earlier than planned… Anyways, this is the results of that poll! Rather unanimous, I'd say XD A few notes:_

_1.) I'll probably end up placing in a LOT of fanservice and/or a lot of weird stuff. Basically, anything that comes in my mind_

_2.) Pairings will not be revealed, but it should be evident as the story goes on (although I bet you guys could guess what the final pairings will be)_

_3.) I am not knowledgeable in the history department, so don't expect much history to be shown (and if it does, it may or may not be accurate)_

_4.) Foreign languages probably will be used, and since I use Google Translate, it might be inaccurate_

_5.) Hetalia and its characters are not mine_

_Enjoy!_

* * *

_Day 1_

England shook his head as he got up, the bright afternoon sun shining on his eyes. Wiping his hands on his navy blue shirt, he looked around the area he was in. He was in what looked like a park, grassy hills with trees in his view. He was standing on a dirt path with lamplights and park benches lined on the side, an occasional tree popping up every now and then. The path led to a curved brown and red patterned bridge up ahead, and beyond that seemed to be another path that lead out of the park.

_Where am I?_ He held his head wearily. The last thing he remembered was playing this video game he had received earlier this morning before blacking out. All he could remember was that the name of the game was "Your Choice", and that all he did was press "New Game" and then an odd sensation went through him. Before he knew it, he was stuck in what he had just now identified as a park.

_It's not the work of magic, that's for sure._ Something supernatural had teleported England wherever he was now, but that something did not have the aura of magic. Or at the very least, magic he was familiar with. He walked forward until he was in the middle of the bridge. A river was under the bridge, the water rather stagnant on this sunny day. On another day, England would have probably strolled through the park, especially with the nice weather there was right now. Seeing as how he had gone through playing a video game into being transported into another land, this was not a normal day.

He sighed and leaned on the bridge railing. "I knew I should've left that game alone. Stupid America… Why'd I even play it in the first place?" He frowned as he stared in the water. "I don't even play video games on a regular basis. Now that I think about it, why did I decide to play it?" The fact that it was wrapped in black should have been setting off alarms in England's head, but he didn't sense anything bad in the package. And let's face it; he needed a break occasionally, even if that break took the form of the video games. Still, it was probably the game's fault that he was stuck here in the first place.

_Now the problem is,_ he placed a hand to his forehead. _How do I get back? I can tell that this isn't Earth, but then where are we?_

"Mr. England, is that you?"

England turned around as Japan walked to him. The Asian nation was wearing a violet robe over a (what did he call it again?) deep blue yukata; it was strange seeing the other nation in casual wear, but if England's guess was right, he certainly was not expecting to be transported into a foreign land. At least he had the good sense to have been wearing shoes (more like wooden slippers, but they counted), although England figured that he hadn't been wearing shoes when he played the game too (which just added to the list of questions he needed answered).

"Japan, you ended up here too?" Japan nodded as he stopped in front of him. "Did you get a game called 'Your Choice' as well?"

"Yes. I had assumed that this was just another one of America's games he wanted me to test out, so I didn't have a second thought upon playing it. Although," his stoic expression shifted a bit. "I don't think that was such a wise decision in hindsight."

"Well, we're stuck here now," England got his hands off the railway. "Do you happen to have any idea where we are?"

Japan shook his head. "I know just as much as you do. However, I do have some… ideas that could work."

"Which is?"

Japan seemed a bit embarrassed. "I believe we are stuck inside the world of the video game." England just stared at him.

"You've got to be kidding right?"

"Well, it is not so farfetched a possibility. If I am right, you also appeared here after pressing 'New Game'?" England nodded. "Then it is only reasonable that we could have been sucked into the video game world. After all, this does not feel like any nation in our world, does it not?"

"Still…" England looked away. "That's pretty hard to believe Japan."

Japan shrugged. "It's the only thing I can think of right now."

England opened his mouth to say something, but shut it close the next. _I _suppose_ that that is rather plausible, but how did America manage to bring us into the video game world without using magic? And last time I checked, technology hasn't advanced that far yet._ England sighed again. _This is all too confusing. The best thing to do right now is focus on something that we _can _solve._

"Hey Japan," the other looked at him. "Where you with anyone when you played the game? I was alone when I played the game, but I was wondering if you had been with someone, just in case they were teleported too."

Japan tilted his chin down with a hand. "…Mr. China had come for a short visit. Sometimes he comes with either Hong Kong or Taiwan, but this time he came alone. He was in the room when I had started playing the video game."

"Do you have any idea if he had been affected as well?"

"No, although it is possible that he was," Japan looked faintly worried. "I suggest we go look around the area. It would do us good to have a better idea of where we are, and we might run into others who have been sucked into this world."

England bit his lip, trying to resist the urge to point out that they had not yet proven the world to be a game world. "Agreed."

''''''''''

"AIYAAAH!"

China looked frantically around as he realized that he wasn't in Japan's living room anymore. "What is going on here aru? !" One moment he had been watching Japan play video games, the next he was in a totally different place. _H-how did this happen? ! I've had plenty of strange things happen in my lifetime, but this is one of the weirdest!_

He looked around. He was standing in in what looked like a shop, wooden shelves filled with random goods surrounding him. China himself stood behind a bare wooden countertop that jutted from the left side of the wall, the countertop stopping after a few feet so that a small area was empty. Behind China stood a wooden door, but when he tried to open it, he found that it was locked.

"Just… what happened aru?" China rested an arm on the countertop to rest his head on. "Wha… wha…"

"Китай (China)? Is that you?"

China lifted his head up to see Russia standing outside the display window up front. He was wearing a double breasted deep blue jacket with dark black jeans and equally black loafers. His signature scarf was wrapped loosely around his neck, the scarf this time was charcoal gray. China stared dumbstruck as the taller nation entered through the door, the bell ringing as he entered.

"俄國 (Russia)… What are you doing here?" China asked dully as Russia walked up to him, not really interested in how the other ended up in the same place as him. He was still busy trying to figure out where he was, how he got there, and if Japan ended up in the strange place as well. "Let me rephrase that: _how_ did you get here?"

Russia rested his arms on the countertop, a thoughtful expression on his face. "All I remember is playing this new game I received this morning. I thought it was from Estonia, so I tried it out," his voice came out puzzled. "All I did was press 'New Game' and then I passed out. When I came to, I was here. How about you China? Were you playing the video game as well?"

"No," he shook his head. "Japan was playing the video game and I just happened to be in the room aru. Do you have any idea where we are?"

"Not at all," despite the negative answer, Russia seemed to be quite happy. "This doesn't feel like any country I know of," he extended a hand. "Would you like to go look around with me? It's hard to pinpoint where we are if we only know what the shops look like, da?"

China hesitated. _It _would_ do us good to take a look around…_ "All right," China walked to the end of the counter and went through the space there. "We'll have to look for a place to rest and for food first aru. Who knows how long we'll be here," he sighed again as he followed Russia out the door. "You said that you _thought_ the game was from Estonia. Does that mean that you don't know who exactly the game came from aru?

"Yes." They emerged out of the shop to find a circular plaza in front of them, a simple yet beautiful fountain in the middle of it. Excluding the sidewalk, the ground was made from tan and red cobblestone, an odd pattern forming on it. Behind the fountain was a dark brown two-story building with a green tiled roof, the building looking like a house. A railed platform (or an elongated balcony) jutted out the second floor, with three doors spaced out evenly across the wall, a staircase located on the right side of the platform so that one could go up on the second floor with ease. On the right side of the fountain was a reddish-brown brick building with arched glass windows and a white staircase and columns, causing the building to look a bit like a library. To the left of the fountain was a simple cream-colored café, the building itself very small with the outside of it was fenced with white, chairs and tables with umbrellas lined up inside the fence. The plaza branched out into four paths from the ordinal directions of the circle, the northeast path leading to a clock tower while the northwest path leading to what looked like a park. From where they were standing, China couldn't tell where the southeast and southwest paths led.

"What the hell aru? ! I don't even think this is on the map!" Even though the buildings could pass for Western architecture, China knew that the town was too odd and too small to actually be in a Western country. "Just where are we? !"

"You don't think that…" Russia trailed off as he looked around the area once again, but China could guess what he probably would have said next.

"I doubt it aru," China scoffed. "If it was a video game world, how did I get sucked in if Japan was the one playing the game? It doesn't make any sense aru."

"China," Russia's voice was unnaturally quiet. "I don't know if you've noticed, but-"

"Oi!"

They turned to the sound of the voice. Standing at the northwest path was Japan and England, Japan looking relieved as he saw them. Both of their clothes were somewhat grass stained at the ends, although England's midnight blue track pants and white rubber shoes particularly stained. England was waving a hand, his white polo shirt creasing as he moved.

"I think he wants us to go to them," Russia said after a stunned silence. China just nodded, and before he knew it, he found himself in front of the two nations.

"日本!" China hugged the younger man. "Are you alright aru? !"

"Um, yes, yes I am," Japan didn't make a move, but it was obvious that he was uncomfortable. "Can you please get off of me China? I would rather not ask you to take responsibility…"

"How mean Japan!" Even though China was pouting, he was too relieved that Japan was okay to actually be irritated. He let go of him. "Do you two have any idea where we are?"

Japan opened his mouth to answer, but England replied first. "Japan seems to believe that we were sucked into the video game, but even I know that America's technology hasn't advanced that far."

"Америка (America)? I thought Estonia was the one who built this game," Russia frowned slightly. "Although it would make sense if America was the one who built it. He does have a tendency to show off, so he must have sent the game to multiple countries for just that purpose."

"That may be, but technology is not advanced enough for America to be able to bring us into a video game," Japan pointed out. "And for what purpose would America have to trap us in a video game? Even if he has a grudge against us, I doubt he would take it to such extreme levels as this."

A collective silence fell between the four nations. Finally, China broke the silence. "Look, I think we all agree that this whole situation is very, _very_ weird," they turned to him. "Right now, we're just confusing ourselves by asking all these pointless questions, so I suggest we just take a break for the rest of the day before we look around some more. Everyone agree aru?"

"Yeah, resting would be the best option right now," England said softly. "After all, it's already evening."

"What? !" China looked at the sky and indeed, the sky was painted a lovely light orange. "But it was the middle of the afternoon just a while ago! There's no way it's evening already aru!"

"Well, we _are_ running on video game time," Japan stated calmly. "If video games always ran on real time, nobody would buy them. As for where we should rest, I think that building should do just fine," Japan looked at the two-story brown and green building near them. "Shall we go?"

"Wait first," Russia interrupted them before they could move. "I know China had just said that questions just confuse us more, but this has been on my mind for quite some time," he looked at Japan. "You also agree that we are stuck in the video game world, but do you have any ideas how to get out?"

"Some, but…" Japan looked away. "There is not enough information for it to be right," he looked like he would say more, but had decided against it. "At any rate, I believe that a good night's rest would do us all some good."

China knitted his eyebrows at Japan's uncomfortable stance. _He says that he doesn't have enough information, but it looks like he's reached a conclusion already. I wonder what it is?_ "Well, what are we waiting for aru? Let's go!"

'''''''''''

England shouldn't have been surprised. After what he'd just been through, he really shouldn't have been.

They were standing in the living room, the walls as dark as the wood of the building while the floor was an even darker shade. To their right was a glass door that led to a porch and a well-trimmed backyard. At the back of the room was a kitchen, with a black marble countertop standing like an island in the middle of the appliances. On the far left of the room, the room branched out into what looked like a dining room. England, Russia, China, and Japan just stood there as they watched the 8 other countries go about their business. Sitting around the dark coffee table to the side of the room was America and Prussia, both of whom were sitting down on the dark blue rug. Prussia was wearing a gray shirt and dark blue pants while America was just wearing a white T-shirt and red jogging pants. Both of them were locked in a game of cards, screaming loudly at each other every now and then. Meanwhile, Germany and Canada were calmly reading a book on the two armchairs on either side of the coffee table, neither of them paying any attention at their two screaming brothers. Germany wore a black tank top and blue shorts, while Canada wore a maple print white shirt with white and red plaid shorts. Spain and Romano were on the couch behind America, Spain sleeping placidly on Romano's shoulders as the other nation was making half-hearted attempts to push him off. Romano was wearing white pajamas checkered with black, while Spain wore tan pajamas. At the back of the room was a blue-pajama clad Italy making food with France, who was wearing a white dress shirt and simple pants. No one seemed to have noticed England and co. enter.

"Now when did you guys get here?" America, Prussia, Canada, Germany, and Romano looked at Russia as he spoke. "We were wandering around for quite some time, so it's unfair that you guys got to rest, da?" He giggled. "Kidding~"

"Um," America didn't know how to react. "I take it you guys got sucked into the video game world too?"

"Ugh, just how many people insist on the suggestion that we are trapped inside a video game?" England walked forward and sat on one side of the coffee table as the others claimed seats at the dining room. "Honestly, that's just downright-"

"Absurd?" America let out a lighthearted laugh. "England, you believe in magic, but you don't think that we could be stuck in a video game?" England turned a fiery red, but before he could retort, someone interrupted him.

"Oi, are we going to finish this card game or not?" Prussia placed down his cards. "I was just about to unleash my killer move!"

"Will you two please stop already?" Germany looked back down at his book, his voice coming out as wholly exasperated. "It would be nice to have some peace and quiet over here."

"Yeah," Romano's irritated voice cut in. "If I have to hear another 'YOU CHEATED' 'I DID NOT' fight, I will _personally_ shoot your heads off."

"Romano, as much as my brother can be annoying, it would be troublesome if he was killed off," Canada flipped another page of his book nonchalantly.

"Food's ready!" France declared as he turned to the other nations. His eyes zeroed in on England. "Ah, _Angleterre! _It is good to see you!" he smirked. "Had you come earlier, you might have volunteered to help cook. We couldn't have that, could we?"

"Why you little-"

"Ah, did you say the food was ready?" China's worry seemed to have disappeared at the mention of "food". "What kind of food have you cooked?"

"Ah!" Italy smiled at him. "I cooked pasta! There weren't that many ingredients here, so both Big Brother France and I just cooked pasta!"

"Huh? ! Aiyaa…" China sighed and placed a hand on his forehead. "I suppose it's fine. After all, you two both know what you're doing when it comes to cooking pasta. I'm sure it will taste fine aru."

"China-san, you still remain unchanged when it comes to food," Japan let out a somewhat happy sigh. "So we took care of food and shelter after all. I'd say that today we made some pretty good progress, don't you think?"

"Yeah," America placed his cards down as he got up. "It's a good thing you programmed the game to have food and shelter Japan, otherwise we would've starved to death!"

Japan furrowed his eyebrows. "I'm sorry, but what are you talking about America?"

America looked at him as if he just stated that the sky was blue. "What do you mean? You made the game, trapped us in here for some reason, and now we're stuck," he smiled. "I'd totally hate you right now if you didn't program food in here, but it's all good now."

Silence grew among the twelve. "America…" England started out slowly. "There's no way Japan could have made the game."

The smile on his face was wiped off immediately. "What do you mean?"

"I saw Japan receive and play the game," China said. "He seemed too surprised for it to have been an act aru."

"Then…" America's voice was distant. "Who did?"


	2. Day 1-2: The Discovery

_Double update all the way across the sky, yeah yeah yeaaaaaah, so intense SHOT (I'm sorry, I couldn't resist). Anyways, welcome to my third update of the day (the first being Cat's last chapter, the second being this story's first) and I hope you like it! (Please pardon any misuse of any foreign language, British English included)._

* * *

_Day 1_

"Ok, so if I didn't make it," America brought a fork up as he chewed on his pasta. "Fu hid (Who did)?"

The twelve were sitting around a rather large, rectangular dining table, the top covered in a white top and various dishes of pasta. A chandelier hung in the middle of the room, and cupboards lined the left side of the wall. Germany sat with his back to the wall and was facing the living room. To his right was Japan, who sat next to China in turn. Russia sat next to China, and at the head of the table was America, who was slurping loudly as he ate his pasta. To America's left sat England, who was scowling at America's bad manners while next to him, Canada was trying to calm down Romano, who sat next to him in turn. Next to a rather irritated Italian sat Spain, who was apologizing profusely at having accidentally slapped Romano when he had woken him up (it was a long time until Romano had calmed down). Watching with an amused face was France, who was toying with his food as he made comments at Romano and Spain's fight. Prussia, who was at the other head of the table, was cheering them on, as Italy (who was on Germany's left) was happily and obliviously eating his pasta.

"America, I didn't raise you to have such horrid manners," England's scowl deepened.

"You barely raised me at all!"

"Why you-!"

"Romano~" Spain was backing away as Romano held a spoon threateningly at him. "I'm sorry! I was having a bad dream, so I-"

"Shut up bastard, that was _no_ excuse to hit me!"

"But you hit me all the time!"

"Because you actually deserve it!"

"Please, you two must stop fighting," a smirk formed on France's face. "If you fight, this will leave a sour note on your relationship."

"What relationship? !"

"Aw France, don't stop them!" Prussia seemed overly excited. "I want to see how much Ita-chen's brother dearest can pack a punch!"

"Aiyaa…" China stared distastefully at the unruly nations. "Why are you Westerners so lively? Some people are trying to eat here aru."

"Yes, I think we should just all calm do-" Japan coughed, successfully interrupting whatever Canada was trying to say. Meanwhile, the ruckus seemed to be growing.

_These imbeciles…_ Germany let out a sigh before standing up. "Everyone, pay attention!" All noise stopped immediately. "That's better," Germany sat down again. "America, as you were saying."

America gulped down his food. "Well, I was just asking if anyone had an idea of who sent us the game. I mean, mine didn't have a note on it, but I assumed it was from Japan since he sends me games all the time."

"Likewise, I assumed the same of Mr. America," Japan sipped his water calmly. "It seems that neither of us made the game, and I doubt that anyone in this room would actually trap themselves in their own game."

"So it could have been from a third party," Russia concluded. "But who would want to trap us in a game in the first place? And how did they manage to do it? As many have stated before, technological means seem to be out of the question."

"Add magical to that list," England picked up his tea cup. It seems that he had finally believed that they _were_ actually in the video game, but it had taken much persuasion from America before he finally consented. "If we had come here by magical means, I would have sensed it."

"I vote we just ignore that question for now," Spain said, having apparently resolved his fight with Romano. "I'm more in favor of trying to get _out_ of the game first. We can find the culprit and ask him how he managed to stuff us in here _after_ we're actually out of the game."

"That should be easy enough!" America smiled broadly. "This is a video game, right? All we have to do is beat it to leave it!"

"That could work, but there doesn't seem to be any monsters that inhabit this world," Japan stated skeptically.

"Yeah, we can't beat up monsters if there are no monsters in the first place," Prussia added, eating a rather large forkful of pasta afterwards.

"True, true, but those southern paths seem awfully suspicious," America wagged a finger smugly. "And I doubt that either of us managed to explore the northern parts that much either."

"Just what are you suggesting?" Romano eyes America suspiciously. America beamed as he stood up.

"Tomorrow, we'll send out search parties!" Everyone looked like they were going to groan.

"And who, pray tell, will decide these search parties?" England looked like he was suspecting the worst. Pretty much everyone had the same expression on their faces as America jabbed a thumb at his chest.

"The hero of course!" America's grin widened as he turned to Japan. "Japan, since you came from that path, you'll go scope out the northwest path… I think you should bring Germany with you, just in case some monsters show up," Germany gaped as America kept going on. "Since you're the only one who can handle him, Italy will be joining Germany and Japan. I'll take the northeast path with England and I guess France will come as well since he might as well come with us. Canada, you'll take the southeast path with Romano and Spain so that you can make sure that those two don't fight, so that leaves the rest with the southwest path," he smiled triumphantly at the twelve stunned people. "Any objections?"

There were plenty.

"Why does Veneziano have to be stuck with that potato bastard? !"

"Why am I stuck with that Russian bastard?"

"_What_ did you call me Пруссия (Prussia)?"

"Aiyaa, Prussia you idiot! Are you trying to kill yourself by annoying Russia?"

"Ve~ I'm with Germany? Yay~"

"Veneziano be quiet, I will _not_ let you be with that potato bastard!"

"_Si_, why can't _both_ the Italies be with me?"

"Shut up Spain!"

"_Oui_, it is no fair that you claim both of the forbidden fruit _Espagne_ (Spain), especially since I am stuck with _Angleterre _(England)."

"Trust me, I don't want to be stuck with you frog."

"Pl-please, will everyone just calm down…?"

"Japan, please stay out of it."

"Maple…"

_Now why…_ Germany closed his eyes as the ruckus grew. _Couldn't I be stuck in a different world with _normal_ nations?_ He sighed as he stood up again. "Oi, listen!" Again, everyone seemed to be quiet down at the sound of Germany's voice. "I'm sure America had a good reason to assign everyone the positions that they are in as of now, so complaining will do us no good, _especially_ in the situation we are in," he let out an exasperated sigh as he sat back down.

"Soo…" America broke the silence that seemed to have formed after Germany's short lecture. "If there's nothing else to say, then we'll meet back at that fountain in the evening and compare notes. Now then," America took another bite of the now-cold pasta. "Vefs feef (Let's eat)!"

* * *

_Day 2_

"Ufu, isn't this fun?"

They were walking along a dirt path edged with grass, and it had been quite some time since they had left the town they were in. Prussia walked sourly in the front, his hands stuffed in his maroon jacket. For some reason, some gifts (mostly clothes) had appeared to some nations after they had taken a bath; for Prussia, he had obtained a maroon jacket and a gray shirt that said "Deutscher Orden" on it, as well as an Iron Cross necklace. Behind him, Russia was wearing the exact same clothes as yesterday, and judging by the happy tone in his voice, Prussia would have thought that he was skipping. Next to him was China, who was wearing the same yellow mandarin jacket and pants and red slippers as yesterday. He had also received something this morning- a Shinatty-chan doll, which he was now hugging to his chest. The awkward atmosphere around the three men enveloped them like a casket.

"Erm, yeah, sure it is…" China's face was buried on the Shinatty-chan's head. He had spent all morning gushing over it, and it was only now that he had stopped. "I wonder where these mysterious gifts came from aru? 英國(England) said that it wasn't from magic, so maybe it's a part of the game…?"

"It doesn't matter," Prussia turned his head slightly so that he was facing them. "Our main goal is finding a way out of here, so unless the game gives us something like that, pretty much everything is useless to us right now."

"I don't know, that jacket seems to suit you," Prussia scowled as he looked forward. He _really_ didn't care for Russia's opinions right now (especially since Germany wasn't there right now).

"Can we just focus? This trail has been going for who-knows-how-long and talking will only expend our energy, so everyone just be quiet and march!"

A short silence followed, but it was quickly broken. "You are very similar to Germany, Prussia," Russia said finally with an amused tone in his voice.

"It's true aru," China's voice was awed. "I don't think anyone was expecting that."

"Be quiet, I'm nothing like _bruder,_" despite that, a hint of pride was in Prussia's voice. "_Bruder_ does well enough that I can live in his attic with style, so I am nothing like him."

One of them laughed, but otherwise, nobody didn't say anything for a while. It wasn't until they finally saw a building up ahead did the conversation pick up again.

"Wha…" China walked forward until he was right next to Prussia. "Is that a movie theater?"

The path opened up to a circular clearing up ahead, imposing trees lining around the clearing's circumference. The movie theater itself was a stout, square building with glass double doors and a neon sign saying "Movie Theater" hanging on top of it. The cinema seemed rather outdated, but Prussia could tell that the building had never been in use.

"What's a movie theater doing out here?" Russia walked forward until he was in front of it. He inspected the building. "I wonder what movies they show…"

"_That's_ what you're thinking about right now?" Prussia walked to the edge of the clearing. He reached a hand to the trees, but some invisible force pushed it back. "Escaping through the forest seems to be out of the question. I can't even touch the trees."

"And monsters haven't come at us, so what should we do?" Prussia looked back to see China eyeing the movie theater. "Maybe they'll come at us when we go inside the movie theater? Either way, we have to go inside, right aru?"

_But what if we don't find monsters?_ Prussia inhaled a breath. _How will we get out then?_ "All right," he looked at the simple movie house with a bit of dread. "Let's go."

'''''''''

"Roma, lighten up~"

"Shut up Spain!"

Canada sighed as he watched the two European countries argue ahead of him. _Honestly, it's like they're an old married couple. _Canada almost said it out loud, but then he realized that Kumajirou wasn't there to talk to. He was so used to having the little polar bear around him that it had surprised him when little Kuma hadn't been transported either. _It's probably the same for Prussia._ Canada thought, recalling that the odd German did not have the little chick with him. _I suppose I can talk to him about it later,_ Canada stuffed his hands in his red hoodie. Somehow, a red hoodie and blue jeans had appeared over his pajamas, and Canada was even more surprised that it had fit him. He would have freaked out if other nations hadn't also received mysterious gifts.

"Come on Roma," Spain was wearing a cerulean blue hooded jacket over a white shirt and dark black jeans. "Can't you lighten up even a bit? You've been sour this whole time, and you're really cute when you smile…"

Canada saw the tips of Romano's ears go red. He was wearing a brown plaid jacket over a white shirt and light blue jeans, his hands stuffed into his jeans' pockets. "D-didn't I tell you to shut up Spain? And don't call me Roma! I…I have a full name you know!"

"But Romano…"

Canada chuckled. "You guys are really close, don't you know that?"

"Really?" Spain seemed genuinely shocked. "But I'm like this to everyone."

"Yeah, no matter where he goes, he's always an idiot," Romano muttered.

"Still, you guys remind me of an old married couple," Canada was smiling warmly at the two. "It's nice to see that you guys are close enough to argue casually."

"'Argue casually'?" Romano scoffed. "I don't even think casual arguing even exists."

Canada shrugged, deciding to change the subject. He looked around the area they were in. They had been walking on the dirt path for a rather long time, and it seemed like they were veering off from the town a bit. "Do you think we'll ever find monsters in this place?"

"I doubt it," Spain looked around as well. "If this was an actual monster video game, we would have weapons and armor and all those cool stuff."

"Maybe they come really late in-game?" Canada didn't even bother waiting for an answer. "Look, if we're trapped in a video game, then wouldn't it make the most sense that 'if we beat the boss, we can get out'?"

"Hey guys," Romano interrupted them before Spain could reply. He had suddenly stopped, but when Canada looked over his shoulder, he could see why. "I think you have to take a look at this."

''''''''

"Ve~ Ve~"

Germany watched Italy run through the grass. The little Italian had his arms spread out like an airplane, his loose tan dress shirt riding up a bit as he flapped his hands. Grass stains got on his dark pants a bit as he ran. "Ve~ Germany, this place is fun!"

"Mr. Italy, please be a bit more careful," Japan was sitting next to Germany, his arms drawn around his knees. He wore a gray jacket and jeans, apparently uncaring of the grass stains he was probably getting. "You could trip or fall."

"I'll be fine Japan!" Italy turned back to them and placed his arms around his back. "Germany, Japan, you should join me!"

"No thank you," Germany sighed, leaning back on his arms. He was wearing a long-sleeved shirt with dark green trousers, so grass stains didn't worry him so much. "We are supposed to be taking a break after all… A break that _should_ have ended long ago."

"But Germanyyyy," Italy started to run again. "We've looked through this whole park and there are no monsters or anything. Even though that's a good thing, we haven't seen any pretty girls here either!"

_It _is _true that it seems like we are the only ones in this world,_ Germany thought. _But I don't know of any other way to get out of this video game other than the standard 'defeat the boss' idea._ "Still, there might be more to this park than we have seen."

"Mr. Germany," Japan spoke to him in a low voice as Italy ran around some more. "I do not believe that there is more to this park than we have seen. I truly think that this is all that there is to see."

"I know Japan," Germany sighed as he placed an arm to his knee. He had already reached that conclusion a long while ago. "But what other hope do we have of leaving this place? With monsters nowhere in sight, the normal 'beat the boss to exit' strategy is useless."

"Yes, but I have some ideas that-" Before Japan could finish, Italy had run back to them.

"Germany, there's a bridge over there and a river!" Italy pointed behind him. "Even though Japan said that he'd seen the bridge before, maybe we could follow the river and find someplace new!"

"That's…" Germany stared at the Italian in shock. "That's a good idea Italy." Italy beamed at him for the praise.

"Then what are we waiting for? Let's go!" Italy tugged Germany until he stood up. Beside him, Japan stood up as well as Italy ran on ahead. Germany turned to him.

"What were you saying Japan?"

The Asian nation pursed his lips in thought. "…It's nothing Mr. Germany. Let's just go follow Italy, shall we?" He walked ahead without another word.

_I wonder what he was going to say?_ Germany thought before he started running to catch up with them.

'''''''

"Man, I should have taken the northwest route or one of the southern paths," America pouted as he sat on a nearby bench. "This clock tower is boring."

England sighed as he turned to face the North American nation. He wore the same clothes as the ones he wore yesterday, but someone or something had left him a letter jacket that looked shockingly like his old WWII bomber jacket, with the exception of a few alterations. They were at the clock tower, which stood at the middle of a circular clearing with a few lamplights and benches scattered around its circumference. The clock tower itself was rather tall and was rectangular, and they had been spending their time looking for secret switches in the red and white bricks of it. As for whether or not it told time, the hands seemed to be fixed on 12:00, which England knew wasn't the time right now. "Cheer up America, at least this makes our job easier."

"Yes, less area to cover means less time to look around," France had obtained a white V-neck long sleeved shirt along with a black scarf and jeans of the same color. He was standing on the right side of the tower. "I don't see why we're still here though. I think this clock tower has proven to be rather uneventful."

"Belt up and keep looking," England snapped. He himself was looking at the back of the tower. "We haven't searched this whole thing yet, but it would certainly help if _someone_ would help us already." He not-so-subtly glared at America, who brought up his hands in defense.

"Hey, I probably looked the most out of the both of you, so don't look at me old man."

"Just because you were searching with as much energy as a hyperactive squirrel does _not_ mean that you did a good job," England retorted. "And don't call me old man! I'm not that old yet!"

"Oh _Angleterre,_ we are nations," even without seeing him, England could tell that the other was smirking. "There's no need to be defensive about your rather… _ancient_ age."

"One more word out of you France and I swear you won't get out of this video game alive," England growled. "And I'm not ancient! 'Ancient' would be China or Japan, and I am nowhere _near_ their ages!"

"Japan actually told you his age?" America seemed surprised. "I've been trying to get it out of him in ages, but he just won't give!"

"Of course Japan hasn't told me his age," England resumed looking for a secret switch. "But seeing as how China had taken care of him when he himself was rather young, that should say something about his age."

"What does that say of me then?" France interrupted. "I've known you since you were young and I'm not _that_ far off from your age."

"What it says, you annoying twit, is that you have been the bane of my existence even when I was a child."

"Wow, you guys just don't stop fighting, do you?" America sighed as he leaned back, effectively cutting off France before he could say something back. "I've only known England since I was younger, and even then it wasn't for such a long time before…" he paused. "So yeah, basically the both of you are a bunch of old geezers while I have yet to reach my prime."

"Cheeky brat," England remarked, but he couldn't help but feel a small stab of pain as he realized which event America was talking about. They continued on their work in silence, but then England pressed a brick somewhere near his eye level. The moment he touched it, the brick seemed to disappear, revealing a small white strip with black letters etched in it.

"Hey, I think I found something," England trailed the white strip as America and France appeared by his side. "It says here '30'," he remarked, trailing the '3'. He looked at the both of them. "Do you have any idea what that could mean?"

France shook his head no as America pursed his lips. Something seemed to be on his mind, but it looked it was something America didn't want to accept. "America? Do you have an idea what this could mean?"

America bit his bottom lip before answering. "I think we need to get back to the others."

''''''

"So let me get this straight," America paced around with his hand on his chin as the others sat around the fountain. "Prussia's group found a cinema that only had, well, a movie theater and an arcade inside, and that escape by land is impossible by means of a barrier. Canada's group found a beach that after some distance, they couldn't go past. Nor was there a boat in sight, so escape by ocean is impossible. Japan's group didn't find anything past the park even when they tried to follow the river, which they surprisingly could not go past, and my group just found a hidden number '30' behind the clock tower," he stopped pacing. "And nobody saw monsters. At all."

"Yup, so you can scratch the monster killing idea off the list," Prussia leaned back. "Pity, it would have been nice to show off my awesome skills."

"Maybe we got the video game genre wrong?" Canada suggested. "There _are_ more genres out there, like Action-Adventure, Third-Person Shooter and those kinds of stuff."

"Maybe it's a horror game?" Romano added sulkily. "'Cause I'm sure as hell terrified right now."

"No, no, none of those seem to fit," America waved a hand. "Both of the games you suggested Canada have monsters in it, and this is way too upbeat and cheery to be a horror game…" He sat down on the ground. "So what could it be?"

Nobody answered, everyone thinking of their own theory. Finally, Japan cleared his throat. "As some of you know, I've been developing ideas of the situation we are in, and the evidence that we have gathered support it."

"You did mention something like that," Germany said as he remembered that time in the park, while China, Russia, and England were nodding along to that. "Can you tell us what it is?"

Japan shifted a bit and then looked at America. "Mr. America, I believe that you arrived to the same conclusion as I did?"

"If what you're thinking is what I'm thinking, then yeah, but… Come on, that's just…" America's face seemed to grow a bit red. "Th-that's just absurd."

"Honestly, it seems like you two have some secret or something," France said exasperatingly. "Can you just tell us what it is already?"

"Yeah, my little chick is probably wondering where the hell I am right now," Prussia added. "I just want to get back home already."

"Well… It's… it's… uhh…" America looked desperately at Japan. "You explain. There's no way that _I'm_ saying it."

"Me?" Japan was equally as flustered. "I apologize for my rudeness, but-"

"Oh for the love of all things magical, what is it?" England placed his hands on his hips. "I'm sure the rest of us would gladly appreciate being told what apparently you two managed to figure out."

Japan cleared his throat again. "Well… It seems that we are stuck in a dating sim."


	3. Day 2-3: The Start

_Day 2_

"You've got to be kidding me, right?" England's face registered blank shock.

"A-aren't dating sims those games th-that...?" Romano's face paled. "Oh hell no."

"But we're all male aru!" China hugged his Shinatty-chan doll even tighter. "How will that work out? !"

"I don't know okay? !" America buried his red face with his hands. "Judging by that 30 we found, we have 30 days to p-p-pair up!"

"I don't think our gender matters much here," Spain seemed oddly calm. "Some of us had to marry before, and there aren't that many female nations in the world, so gender really isn't a question here."

"That still means we have to pair up," Prussia, who was pretty much eternally single, let out an irritated sigh. "How in the hell will that work out?"

"That's easy enough," France brought a hand out. "Everyone just needs to pair up with _moi_ and the problem will be solved, right?"

_5 minutes later..._

"Continuing on," Germany cleared his throat, drowning out the muffled noises a certain tied-up nation was making. "So all we have to do is 'get together' and we might stand a chance of getting out?"

"I believe so," Japan seemed to have recovered from his embarrassment. "Normally, dating sims only pair two people together, so at the end of the month, there should be 6 pairs."

"I can't believe it," Canada's voice was soft. "Are you sure that we're stuck in a dating sim? Can't it be something else?"

"A beach, a cafe, a cinema, a park, twelve people, 30 days, free clothes..." America shook his head. "Can't be anything else."

"That's just great," Romano was scowling. "So everyone here has to fall in love in 30 days to get out. Now that's just-"

"Ve~ can I claim Germany?" Italy suddenly spoke up. "I like Germany after all..."

"Veneziano!" Romano snapped as Germany turned into a light shade of pink. "There's no way in hell that you and that bastard are getting together!"

"_Oui_, what does _Allemagne_ (Germany) have that the _magnifique moi_ does not have?" France managed to free his mouth from his bindings. "And why are you all so against being the _tres magnifique moi's_ lovers?"

"Ah, so little France will become one with me, da?" A purple aura emitted off of Russia.

"Err, that is..." France tried to squirm backwards.

"You're a real piece of work, aren't you France?" England sounded like a mixture of both exasperation and annoyance.

"I don't need your opinion, _Angleterre_, especially since we all know who you will end up with."

"What are you talking abou-?"

"America, are you okay?" Canada walked over to where his brother was sitting.

"Canada," America's voice came out slowly. "I think I finally know what a worst case scenario is."

"Huh? What are you-?"

"Roma," Spain was holding back an angry Romano, who looked ready to pounce on Germany. "Why are you so against Ita being with Germany? I think it would be adorable if they got together~"

"Shut up Spain, wolves will spit out bread before that happens!"

"Mr. Romano, will you please stop telling Spain to 'shut up'?" Japan sighed. "At any rate, I think it would be wisest to go back to the house. It's already night."

"Agreed," China frowned. "Anymore arguing, and these Westerners will drive me crazy aru."

* * *

_Day 3_

Prussia turned the knob and relaxed as cooling hot jets of water fell on him.

_Brilliant. Just brilliant._ Prussia placed his head on the tiled wall in front of him. The bathroom itself was on the second floor and was in the door farthest to the left, so they could hear the other nations below them. There were four showerheads total, so each morning there were groups of three that would shower. Today, Prussia was showering with China, England, and Romano.

"You can't believe this either?" Prussia heard England's voice on the far left.

"This is madness aru," China was shaking his head, his hair smacking Prussia on the side. "This has to be a nightmare… A really _bad_ nightmare."

"Trust me, I've hit Spain enough times to know that this is the real deal," To prove his point, Romano hit the wall with his fist. "What if we don't _want_ to hook up with someone here? It's not like we have the best choices right now…"

The conversation stalled after that, neither nation wanting to talk about the unpleasant situation they were in. "This is totally un-awesome," Prussia said as he turned off the showerhead and started walking to the stalls. Four wooden stalls stood at the back of the room, each one containing a toilet; everyone silently agreed to change in there for some privacy, although it was often troublesome when one was in the stall next to France. _There's probably going to be another gift today._ Prussia thought as he opened the stall door and closed it behind him. He expected a new item on top of his old clothes like how yesterday's gift presented itself. He was right, but…

"This…" He held up the fabric that had somehow magically replaced his old clothes. "You've got to be fucking kidding me."

"Aiyah!" China's voice echoed across the room. "What is this? !"

"Not again! ! !" Prussia heard something slump to the ground. "Dammit, is this some kind of joke? !"

"There's no bloody way I'm actually wearing this," England's voice was withdrawn and shocked. "Anyone know where the old clothes are?"

"Brows, if we knew where our clothes were, we wouldn't be freaking out so much," Prussia scowled as he looked around the stall, but to his horror, their old clothes was nowhere in sight.

"Why didn't this happen to the others aru? ! _They_ certainly didn't get out wearing this… this…" Prussia's group was the last to shower, and the earlier groups _certainly_ weren't wearing anything this ridiculous when they left. In fact, they were wearing the same clothes as they had been the day before. _Dammit,_ Prussia slammed a fist on the stall wall. _I should've figured that there was something fishy with how none of the others received gifts._

"This is _seriously_ un-awesome," Day 3, and already the game world was a living hell for Prussia. "You think we can just stay in here the whole day and nobody will notice?"

"We can _try_, I'll tell you that," Prussia could _feel_ Romano scowling from three stalls over. "Screw the fact that these are the only toilets in the game world right now, there's no way in _hell_ that I'll actually leave this stall with _that _on."

"I don't know about you, but I doubt we can stand in these stalls butt-naked the whole day," England sighed, and Prussia could hear the rustling of cloth. "I won't leave the stall, but I'd rather not freeze to death."

"Aiyah…" Prussia could hear China pulling their new "gift" on. "This is so embarrassing…"

"Tell me about it," The sound of cloth being tugged harshly on skin was heard from Romano's stall. "So we'll just stay in here the whole day and hope that by tomorrow, they'll leave a better gift for us?"

Prussia took one last look at their "gift" and then grudgingly placed it on. "Or if we starve. And who's to say that whoever's giving us this shit will give us a change of clothes tomorrow? It seems to me that this game is intent on making us suffer. " He looked down at himself when he had placed the whole material on. "And it's working."

'''''''''

"Hey…" Spain looked over as Canada placed down his book calmly. The afternoon light wafted in the room through the glass door beside them. "Don't you think that they've spent a long time in the bathroom?"

"They haven't left yet?" Spain took a tomato from the refrigerator and bit into it like an apple. Tomato juice dribbled down his chin, which he wiped away with the back of his hand. "They've been in there since this morning!"

"I wonder if anything happened to them," Japan fidgeted slightly in his seat. "After all, isn't the bathroom where we received mysterious presents? Do you think that maybe they received something life-threatening today?"

"Doubt it," America slumped on the coffee table. "We would've heard Romano scream."

"_Amerique,_" France got up from where he was lying down on the couch. "There are ways to kill a person silently you know."

"I don't care, I have to pee and they're taking _way_ too long a time in there."

"Ufu, you're too impatient America," Russia, who was watching the card game between Italy and Germany at the dining table, giggled.

"Yes, a true soldier can hold their bladder in any situation," Unlike Italy, who looked ready to hide in a rabbit hole any minute now, Germany seemed nonplussed at the Russian's close distance. "Although it is true that _bruder_ is spending an unnaturally long time at the bathroom."

"Yeah, _fratello_ is spending a long time in there as well," Italy stood up quickly and left his cards on the table. "I-I volunteer to go check up on them? Who's with me?"

"I am," America got up with a sigh. "I may be a soldier, but my bladder can't take it anymore."

"I'll come as well," Japan stood up from where he sat on the armchair. "In case anything happens, I can help fight it off."

"I'll come too!" Spain took another bite of his tomato. "If they received gifts, I want to see them!"

'

"Oi, England!" America banged on the door of the bathroom, which for some reason was locked. "Open the door! I know I called you old yesterday, but even I know that you don't take this long to do your business!" he knocked on the door again. "Now open the door! I have to pee!"

"America," Spain heard a door slam on the other side. "Will you just shut it? ! …And what have I told you about your manners? !"

"Fuck manners, I have to pee!"

"Mr. America," Japan placed a hand on the other's shoulder. "I don't think they'll open the door if you keep acting like that."

"日本(Japan)?" The sound of another door closing was heard, although this one was more subdued. "Is that you?"

"Yes, it's me," Japan gently shoved America aside and knocked on the door. "China, you and the others are troubling everyone by staying inside the bathroom. If I may ask, will you get out of there already?"

"Err…" Another door closed. "We _could_, but there are certain uncool reasons why we aren't."

"Prussia, _mi amigo,_ what are those reasons?" Spain placed a hand on Japan's shoulders and went on his toes as if he could see through the door. "Did you four receive a gift today?"

"Spain, is that you? !" There was the sound of a door slamming, with Romano's voice following afterwards. "Don't you _dare_ come in here Spain, or I'll never play video games with you again!"

"_Fratello,_ just what is the problem?" Italy did the same thing as Spain. "Maybe we could help you!"

"Veneziano, not you too!" Romano let out an audible groan. "Can this day get any worse? !"

"AHHHH, I CAN'T WAIT ANY LONGER!" America moved Japan out of the way and kicked the door open. "Look, when a man has to pee, a man has to-"

A few things happened when the door was opened. Four men blanched in horror as they watched the door swing open as the loud American entered the room. Said loud American started talking, but ended up laughing his butt off later. A north Italian gasped and opened his eyes, a feat that was widely believed to be nigh impossible. The Japanese next to him was searching his person for a camera, later feeling disheartened upon realizing that he had left it at home. At the same time, a flying Spanish man was found glomping a southern Italian, who promptly smacked him in the face. Suffice to say, it was a very eventful five seconds.

"Dude England," America pointed at the blushing Brit, tears in his eyes. "I knew you that you were into some weird stuff, but I didn't think that you were into stuff like _this_!"

"Shut it, I had no other choice!" England walked up to him a shaking rage as America kept laughing. "Take this; Britannia Kick!" He promptly kicked him in the knees.

"Ow!" America glared at England. "What was that for? !"

"For being an insufferable git!"

"Japan, don't look!" China tried to hide behind Prussia, but ultimately failed. "This is too disgraceful aru!"

"China," Japan had a complete poker face on. "I think it suits you very much. The twintails are a nice touch by the way."

"Naturally," Prussia placed his arms on his hips as a smug expression came onto his face. "I figured that China would appreciate it, so the awesome me did him a favor."

"Prussia, I will have your head for this later," China grumbled.

"F-f-fratello," Italy's eyes grew wider. "I-is that a-a-" Romano only grew redder.

"I told you I didn't want you to see it," he murmured to himself. "_Especially_ you!" he tried to push Spain off of him, but to no avail. Meanwhile, Spain was rubbing his cheek to Romano's.

"But Roma~" Spain seemed to be off on his own world. "You look so cute~! It's just like when you were young!"

"Idiot, it's you guys' faults that me and Veneziano were like that when we were young!" Romano was as red as a tomato. "It's not like I wanted to wear those ridiculous clothes in the first place!"

"But why?" Spain seemed genuinely confused. "Those are such cute clothes though…"

"You wear them then!" Romano shoved him off. "I'd like to see _you_ wear _maids' clothes_!"

* * *

_The insanity begins._


	4. Day 3: The Menu Screen

_Day 3_

"Well," Germany looked at the four men seated on the couch from where he sat on the armchair. Even though his face was stoic, it was obvious that he didn't know how to react. "You say that your clothes were nowhere to be seen? Are you sure?"

"Bruder, do you really think that the awesome me would wear such a ridiculous thing?" Prussia placed a leg on top of his knee and leaned back. He had been given a Prussian blue maid outfit with rounded short sleeves and a frilly skirt. The dress itself didn't reach his knees, and both the sleeves and the skirt were laced with white. A ruffled pinafore tied to a ribbon at the back accompanied the dress, along with lacy white stockings that reached to his thighs. Prussia couldn't find his shoes, but the mysterious "gift" giver had not given him a pair yet (all he hoped was that it wasn't a pair of high heels). "I may be insane, but not so much that I'd run around wearing this without a weapon."

"Personally, I think it suits you," To any other nation, Prussia would've killed them, but even he wasn't so coldhearted to hurt soft-spoken Canada. "But it _is_ rather odd that you couldn't find your clothes. Does that mean that whoever made this game can control whatever's in it?"  
"That might be the case here," America, who had calmed down from his previous laughing fit, sat down on the floor cross-legged with his hands on his feet. "But I think that they have limited control of the events of the game, otherwise they'd be using us like puppets right now."

"Or they're just sick bastards that are trying to torture us slowly," Right next to Prussia, he could see Romano scowling as he crossed his arms across his chest. He was wearing a short cream colored dress that was frilly and also laced at the end. He also had rounded short sleeves, but it was only rounded at the shoulders, thinning out at the ends. His pinafore was tied to a massive ribbon at the back, while on the front there was a smaller ribbon but poofier "wings". He wore lacy socks that only covered his feet and a bit of his leg, meaning that most of his legs were exposed. The way he was scowling, it was almost like he was daring for someone to go touch him so that he could kill them later. "Seems that way to me."

"Romano, you shouldn't be so negative," Russia, who was at the dining room, grinned. "Everyone has to be happy, da? Plus, those costumes suit you all."

"Russia, please do not speak such lies aru," China, who was sitting down while trying to cover his skirt, was blushing madly. He was wearing a lavender pink sleeveless maid dress with a frilly half-apron tied to his waist, the ribbon at the back being almost as big as Romano's. Flowy detached sleeves that were laced at the end were attached to his arms, the material strapped closely to his shoulder then flowed freely to his wrist. A frilly headpiece adorned his head, along with the bell-shaped hairties that were also given to him, the ones Prussia used to make the twintails in his hair. His socks covered more skin than Romano's, but it still didn't reach his knees. "I would rather not be complimented on something that is so disgraceful."

"Ve~ I don't think it's all that bad," Italy, who was at the kitchen, was happily eating pasta on the countertop. "I mean, chances are, it's only for one day."

"But what if it doesn't last for only one day?" In Prussia's opinion, England had the worst luck of them all. He was wearing a somewhat modest, black _French _maid dress that had a miniscule V-neck. A frilly headpiece was on his messy hair, the headpiece being longer than the one China got. The sleeves of the dress were short and poofy, with the ends being laced in black, both sleeves connecting to the white cloth that covered the upper chest. The dress was tight at the waist then opened out to the rather short skirt, which had two layers of black-laced white strips at the end of the skirt. He had white stockings that went higher than Prussia's own, the tops of it being tied with navy blue ribbons; the material clung onto his rather impressive legs, but otherwise only showed a mere strip of skin. Prussia could tell that England was trying to keep his composure together, but it seemed like the smallest thing could make him snap at the moment. "I'm with Romano with this one; whoever made this game is _intent_ on making us suffer."

"But what is so bad about it _Angleterre_?" France, who was passing behind the couch, spoke with a teasing tone. "All that would mean is that you will be a maid for a little while longer. I suggest," he stretched his hands out on the back of the couch. "That we decide who their masters are. After all, all maids have masters, no? As for myself, I would like to claim England and sweet little Romano here, and maybe-" If given the chance, he probably would have named them all, but somehow, both England and Romano managed to twist upwards and kick France, effectively stopping him mid-sentence.

"Go die in hell bastard," Romano said disdainfully as France slumped to the ground. "There is absolutely _no fucking way_ I'll serve _you._"

"_Si,_" Spain stood up from where he was sitting near the coffee table. "If anyone has the right to claim Romano, that will be _me_," he jabbed a thumb at his chest. "As his boss, it only makes sense, right?"

"Are you an idiot? !" Romano made a move to stand up. "Do you want me to hit you _again_? !"

"Mr. Romano, I'm sure Mr. Spain only meant it in jest," Japan, who was sitting down in front of Romano, stood up to stop the younger nation. "Please, I would rather the floor have no blood in them."

"That's a bit too late for that, don't you think?" Prussia glanced back at France, who was still out cold.

"I'm with Japan," Italy placed down his fork. "If it upsets _fratello_ so much, then I'll just switch clothes with you if you're okay with it."

"You'll do that for me Veneziano?" Romano visibly calmed down as he turned to his brother. "_Grazie, sei il miglior fratello del mon-_"

Suddenly, a 2D pixelated light blue box appeared over the coffee table. Everyone turned to it as green text appeared on the screen. America, who was the closest, stood up to read it.

"'Oh no, that won't do Romano,'" Even though America was speaking in a flat tone, Prussia could imagine a black silhouette wagging a finger at them. "'Do you not like my gift? It unfortunately only lasts for a short time, and I intend for you four to enjoy it to its full extent, so switching clothes is a big no-no,'" the text changed the minute America finished. "'I still have more gifts to give to you four today, but it would be useless if you weren't wearing the costume that goes with it. That's why,'" Prussia felt dread creep up to his skin as the text changed. "'I'll make it so that you _won't_ take it off!'" America frowned as he read the last sentence. "Huh? What could that me-?"

Suddenly, Prussia's vision was filled with a golden glow. A slight tingling went through his skin, and before he knew it, the golden glow was gone.

"What's everyone staring at?" England asked when pretty much everyone in the room was gaping at them.

"Do you not feel any different?" Japan's voice came out slowly.

"No," Prussia frowned as everyone kept on staring and started looking around his body. "Why, did something happen to the awesome m-" he froze as he saw something attached to his rear. "Is that a-?"

"What is this? !" Prussia looked at China. White cat ears had appeared in his black hair, and swishing behind him was a long white tail. "Is this some kind of joke aru? !"

"At least you're something decent!" Long, droopy ears had appeared behind England's headpiece, and when he turned around, a small fluffed-up circle was attached to his rearside, presumably his tail. "I'm a rabbit!"

"You've got to be kidding me!" Copper brown fox ears lay atop of Romano's reddish brown hair, and the fox tail behind him was puffed-up. "First we're maids, but now we're _animal maids_? !"

"At least I'm something awesome," Prussia was fascinated as his scruffy silver tail swished behind him, and when he felt his hair, he could feel the soft fur of what he believed was a pair of wolf's ears. "Although what's the point of turning us into animal mai-?"

"Guys!" Prussia looked up to see Canada staring at the screen. "There's more!"

America turned around and read from the screen once more. "'Brilliant question Prussia! I was actually planning this to be a present for you guys later, but it seems that I've had to open it much sooner than expected. Basically, if you remove these dresses, then you'll turn into that animal until the game ends in 27 days. Naturally, this is a bad thing in a dating game, since most dating games do not have animal choices,'" The text changed. "'That reminds me, your costumes remain unfinished! Italy, if you look below you, then there should be footwear for these four gentlemen. Have them fit into them to tell which belongs to which.'"

Prussia turned around to see Italy bend down and slowly pick up four pairs of shoes, placing them on top of the countertop one-by-one. To Prussia's horror, two pairs were actually high heels.

He gulped. "I knew that would come bite me in the ass sooner or later," he sighed as he stepped off the couch. "Well, we might as well try them on," he glanced at the shoes again. "I pity whichever fool has to wear those heels."

"Bruder, you don't have to do this," Prussia shook his head.

"After that display? I think we do."

'

Prussia sat back down on the couch, intensely glad that neither of the high heels was for him. Instead, he and China were given flat shoes while England and Romano had been stuck with the high heels. He turned around to see both men place them on, and even though they were only half-inch heels, they wobbled as they made their way towards the couch.

"How do women walk in these?" Romano grumbled as he plopped down on the couch. "It's killing my feet!"

"I truly believe that the creator of this game is set out to torture us," England sat sourly on the couch. "I truly do."

"At least that is all of the gifts," China sat down with a satisfied sigh. "I don't think I can handle anymore aru."

"I don't think so," they turned to see Russia holding up two navy blue cloth collars with white lace. "I found this under my chair. I believe that these are for you two, da?"

"'Right you are Russia!'" Before either Prussia or China could object, America started reading the text on the screen. "'It seems that you have found the hidden gifts, although I would have told you if you had not found it,'" Prussia felt a warm feeling around his neck, and suddenly the collars were transported from Russia's hands to both his and China's necks.

"What the-?" Prussia tried to tug the collar off his neck, but to no avail.

"'Careful Prussia, that counts as part of the costume, so I advise you not to take it off. As I was saying,'" America read the text that came afterwards. "'Those are all my gifts for you today! One more thing,'" The four maid nations visibly stiffened, expecting something worst. "'You still haven't found the menu screen yet! How can you play a dating game without knowing the amount of points that have cultivated between you and your potentials? If you manage to find it at the end of the day, then I will tell you something important. If not, then… we'll just see, won't we? Here's a hint: it is found nowhere in the areas past the four paths. Have a fun day :D'" The box disappeared after that, leaving behind twelve stunned nations.

"Well…" Japan broke the silence. "I believe that it would be best to start searching for that menu screen."

''''''''''

"Romano, don't you think you're a little too harsh on Spain sometimes?"

Japan heard Romano sigh from where he was behind the café countertop. "Canada, once you've been around an idiot for a long time, you start realizing that sometimes being harsh is the only way they'll listen."

Canada chuckled. "Romano, I think you forgot that I live with America. I _think_ I know how to handle my idiots."

"It's very hard to imagine Canada being harsh to Mr. America," Japan commented. "You are so quiet all the time after all."

"You've obviously never heard me give a lecture before."

Japan chuckled, continuing his search. Their group was supposed to look for the menu screen inside the shop and the café. After deeming the shop menu screen free, they had moved onto the café. The café had a calming atmosphere, with cream walls and a light colored wooden floor. The countertop at the back of the room was ochre brown, with a glass display next to it showing multiple cakes and other sweets. White tables and intricate chairs were scattered around the room, each table only seating two. Japan was looking under around the tables while Romano handled the countertop at the back. Canada was in charge of looking at the tables outside, but had recently come in, reporting that the area had nothing on it. Now, he was just looking around where the other two weren't.

"Still, you didn't have to reject him so harshly," Canada repeated. "All he wanted was to come with you."

"Spain has rather… _odd_ tendencies when he finds something cute," Romano sighed as he ducked down behind the display case. "It's better for him to stay at the house and keep watch over France, who I _know_ will do _something_ to us if he's unsupervised."

"I believe that that is taken care of," Japan dusted his hands after feeling around the table for a switch. "If anyone can keep Mr. France in line, it would be Mr. Germany."

"Don't even talk to me about him," Romano scowled. "That potato bastard is after my brother and I just know it. I bet he can't wait until he gets his hands on him, and, and-"

"Romano, I don't think Germany's like that at all," Canada bit his lower lip. "Germany's a pretty reliable person. After all, he's handled being with Italy before."

"Look, I'm only trying to look out for my idiot brother, ok?" Romano stood up and inspected the shelves behind the countertop. "Even though Veneziano has taken care of himself before, he can be pretty dim at times. Sometimes it's my job to be the sharp one for him, even though I'm pretty much like him."

"That's not true," Canada walked over to the countertop. "Italy is Italy, and Romano is Romano. Even though you're the same nation, you're not the same person. Believe me, I should know; I'm mistaken for America all the time. We may look alike, but I am in no way like him."

"Canada is right," Japan walked to where Romano was as well. "Romano is Romano, and Italy is Italy. I know you are only trying to look out for him, but sometimes nations have to stand on their own. Please, Mr. Romano, give Mr. Germany a chance."

Romano remained silent for a while, neither searching for the menu screen nor turning around to face them. Finally, he drew out a sigh. "Sheesh, what am I going to do when I have people like you around me?" He turned to them with a little half-smile on his face. "Come on, we have to look for a menu screen, right? That guy said that he'd tell us important if we did, and I'm hoping that it's about our way out," he frowned and looked down on his dress. "The sooner we're out of this game, the better."

''''''

England opened a book, flipping through its pages in the hopes that something about the menu screen was there.

_Nothing._ England closed the book with a sigh. The library was a quaint place, not too big but not too small. The floor was carpeted in green, and rows upon rows of bookshelves were lined at the back of the room. At the front of the room, there were two wooden desks (seating 6 each) and the checkout counter, which was empty. Despite it being a library, there was no directory at all, so England had to rely on trial and error on finding a book of some importance.

"America, Italy, did you two find anything?" He called out, hoping that the other two had better luck than him.

"Nope!" America's voice came out first. From the sound of it, America was at the far back of the room. "Hey Italy, you think we can find 'The Atmosphere' here?"

"I think so!" Italy's voice came from England's right side, the loudness of it telling England that Italy wasn't too far away. "It's a library in a different world, so maybe it has it!"

"Just what are you two talking about?" _Just what kind of book is 'The Atmosphere'? It certainly doesn't sound like any book I know._

"Someone once told us to go read 'The Atmosphere', so we've been looking for it ever since! For some reason though, we haven't found it at all!" England smacked his forehead with the palm of his hand when America's answer came.

"Are you daft? 'The atmosphere' isn't a book at all!"

"That's what she said!"

England shook his head as America's trademark laugh was heard around the library. "I'm surrounded by idiots," he murmured to himself as he opened the ancient-looking book. "Why do I even bother with you America?"

"Because you like him of course!" England dropped the book as Italy spoke right next to him.

"Don't do that!" England bent down to retrieve the book, placing it back where he found it before turning to Italy. "Honestly, that gave me a heart attack!"

"Ve, really? I'm sorry…" Italy looked away before looking back at England. "But anyways, you put up with him because you like him, right?"

"I put up with him because I have to," Italy's smile weakened slightly at England's answer. "It's true that I don't hate the boy, but it's not like I'm overly fond of him either."

"Are you sure?" England was surprised to see that Italy was skeptical. "It's not my business, but doesn't it sound like you're denying something?"

"What are you-?"

"But maybe I'm just reading into things too much," Italy shrugged. "This is why Germany and Romano are the ones that read the atmosphere for me; sometimes I read into things so much that it doesn't make any sense," he started to skip away. "Sorry for bothering you England~ If Germany or Romano was here, they'd be mad at me for not working, so I'll go back to searching!" He disappeared behind a bookcase, leaving England to decipher what he had just said.

_What a strange nation,_ England picked up another book. _I knew he was a bit of an oddball, but that's just…_ He recalled what Italy had said. _I wonder what he meant, me sounding like I'm 'denying something'- I'm never in denial!_

"Hey, I think I found 'The Atmosphere'!"

"Ve, really? Let me see!"

"Idiots, the lot of them," England sighed, although he felt the side of his mouth tug into a smile. "Seriously, what will I do with you two?" Shaking his head yet again, England continued his search.

''''''''''

"You two found it yet?"

China looked up to see Prussia looking at them. "I've been stepping on all of these around a hundred times, so I really doubt there's a hidden switch on the floor."

"And there doesn't seem to be anything on the outsides of the buildings either," Russia reported from behind China, where he was looking at the shop entrance. "I tried the door inside the shop, but it's still locked."

"I haven't found anything in the fountain aru," China stood up as Prussia and Russia walked over to where he was in front of the fountain. "Do you think that he could be lying?"

"What reason would he have for lying?" Prussia crossed his arms across his chest. "Other than for personal entertainment, I doubt that he'd lie to us about that clue."

"He didn't exactly make it easier for us either," An edge of impatience was found in Russia's normally happy voice. "Whoever this person is, he'll answer to me when we get back home."

"Don't forget the awesome me," Prussia sat down on the edge of the fountain. "He'll _pay_ for blackmailing me into a dress."

"Ah, but the dress suits Prussia very much," Russia moved until he was in front of Prussia, leaning forward to him. Before Prussia could react, Russia was trailing the collar around his neck. "Especially that collar… It's a very nice touch, da?"

"Hands off," Prussia jerked his head away from him. "I don't want _you_ anywhere near me."

"Now what is that supposed to mean, comrade?"

"Hey!" China said quickly as a dangerous aura started to surround them both. "We're supposed to be looking for that menu screen, _not_ fighting aru. Honestly, am I the only sane nation here?"

"Oh, I haven't forgotten about little China," Russia turned to him and smiled. "The dress suits China very much as well."

"Excuse me aru?" _Where'd that come from? !_ China thought, taken aback by the sudden compliment. Meanwhile, Prussia snickered.

"You're a _real_ piece of work, aren't you, bringing innocent China into this," Russia smiled at him.

"You're so strong-willed, aren't you Пруссия (Prussia)? I will very much enjoy breaking you, ufu!" Russia giggled, although it was certainly not a happy one.

"Bring it! As long as Germany's here, I have no reason to be afraid of you!" Prussia taunted. "And even without him, you'll _never_ break the awesome me!"

"Would you like me to try?"

"I give up!" China threw his hands up as the two nations glared at each other. "You two are impossible!" He plopped down on the front of the fountain.

_Click!_

All 3 of them turned around to the fountain. The water shimmered in front of them, taking on a purplish hue until a purple text box appeared in front of the water.

"'Congratulations!'" China read. 'It seems as if you've found the menu screen! This is where you check for your relationship status with the other nations, although it will only show how much points _you _have, which means, no peeking into other people's love lives! Since you only found it today, the menu screen will function tomorrow since it has to tally up the points you've gathered so far. That is all!'" With another click, the text box disappeared.

"That's it? !" Prussia looked like he was going to break the fountain any minute now. "What about that clue you promised us? What about that? !"

_Ping!_

The text box reappeared. "'Congratulations!'" This time, Prussia was reading it. "'You found the menu screen before the day ended! Here's your infromation,'" Prussia leaned forward. "'About you guys turning into animals…'" China gulped, expecting the worst.

"'It was a bluff; we can't _actually_ turn you into animals. Have a fun day, and we hope you'll enjoy the game :)'" With another _click_, the text box was gone. There was silence, and then Prussia dropped his head down.

"普魯士(Prussia)?" China said cautiously. "Are you alright?"

No answer. Finally: "Hey Russian."

"Yes?" Russia seemed slightly surprised.

"When we find whoever made this game, he's mine."

* * *

_Romano's clothes are based on Di Gi Charat. Special thanks to Yanelle, who helped inspire me for their maid clothes (_especially_ England in a French maid suit). Hope you'll stick around for the next odd update! (Feel free to place in suggestions; I can only think up of so much)._


	5. Day 4: The First Normal Day

_Day 4_

"America_,_ is that you?"

America looked up to see France walking up to him. "Oh. Hey France."

"What an enthusiastic answer," France chuckled then kneeled down next to him. This morning, every nation received new clothes (even the maid nations. Pity, that was). France had been given a plain white dress shirt and black pants and dress shoes. Even though it was rather plain clothing, France somehow managed to make it cooler than it actually was (for some reason though, it seemed like he'd sparkle at random points of time). He looked at the purple text box in front of America. "Staring at it won't change what it says you know."

"I know that," America sighed impatiently. Earlier that day, everyone had come out to take a look at the menu screen Russia and his group had found. They had said that the menu screen should be functioning today, but all it showed to them was basically how things worked in the game. "It's just…" he sighed again as he pushed his hair up with his hands. "These rules… It's almost like they're watching us, aren't they?"

France only chuckled again. "This is a video game; naturally the creator must watch our progress. Although," he frowned as he traced the words written on the text box. "'The points you receive is vital for this game. To get out of the game, you must gain enough points with one- and _only_ one- other player in this game and vice versa. Certain actions will lead you to either gain or lose points with another person, so be careful with how you interact with others. The points you gain in general, regardless of person, will be used as currency. When you purchase an item, the price will only be deducted from the general points; it will not have an effect on the points you have gained with a specific person,'" The text changed. "'Although everyone here has some form of a relationship with each other, everyone's points start with zero so that everyone has fair play. You have 30 days to accumulate the points needed to leave. During those 30 days, certain events will occur to help speed things along. Have fun~'" France shook his head. "Ah, the things we get into…"

"No kidding," America just stared at the text box in front of him. "If this whole thing isn't ridiculous enough on its own, they have to add those 'events' in as well. If my guess is right, then those maid clothes were the first 'event'. How embarrassing," he let out a breath. "At least the creator can't change our physical form… and that the events only last a day. If it lasted any longer, I'd go insane."

"Though it is a pity that those maid uniforms could not last any longer," France had a wistful tone to his voice. "We could have utilized that much more than we did yesterday. After all, I couldn't figure out if they were wearing the appropriate…_underthings_ for such costumes."

"You pervert," America wrinkled his brows. "And sorry to disappoint you, but Prussia has asserted _multiple_ times that he was _not_ wearing panties under that thing," he suddenly paused. "I _think_ he was telling the truth. He was denying it pretty hard when I asked him."

"Remind me to ask him later," France patted his back. "How ironic, though, that you accuse me of being a pervert when you actually had the gall to ask my dear friend _Prusse_ (Prussia) that question."

"Shut up, I was just curious," America felt a little heat rise up from his neck. "I just wanted to see how far the creator goes with these things, n-nothing else," France smirked at him.

"You still asked the question."

"Ugh, you're impossible," America pushed his hand away. "I'm just glad Prussia was cool enough to actually answer it; if I asked anyone else, I would've gotten kicked."

"True," France absentmindedly winced, probably remembering being kicked yesterday by two of the most temperamental nations in the world. "I wonder what else is in store for us, if maid outfits are our first event."

"Hell, I wonder what will happen to us in the next 26 days," America laid his arms on his knees. "Man, why couldn't we be stuck in Scr*bblen*uts or something? I could've summoned up a time machine and go through time and then come back riding a dinosaur to beat up robot zombies or something like that."

"If we were stuck in such a game, it'd be chaos," France laughed. "At least here, it will be filled with _l'amour_."

America knew his cheeks had just gone pink. "That's… That's… Well that's just-"

"Oi, don't break out on me here," even though France was teasing, his voice had a sort of softness in them. "If it bothers you so much, just get close to someone as a friend. The rules never specified what can gain points, no? I'm sure that being close friends with someone will give you enough points despite it being a dating game," America thought over his words, a bit glad that France managed to guess what had been on his mind.

"Thanks France," he finally said, not knowing how exactly to phrase his gratitude. "Really, thanks."

"_De rien_ (You're welcome)," France got up and stretched. "I suppose I'll return back to the house now. I have to prepare lunch for twelve people, and that should take quite some time."

"Don't you have China and Italy to help you?"

"Our styles in cooking differ, and it is hard to decide on something everyone will like," he started to walk off. "If you'll excuse me, I'll be going now."

"Wait first," France looked back at him. "Aren't you going to look at the points you've gotten so far? You and I are probably one of the few that hasn't, but since you're here, you might as well…"

France just smiled. "No need. I know that the _incroyable moi_ will acquire enough points sooner or later, so why bother?"

America shook his head. "You're crazy, but oddly enough, I don't doubt you. Be seeing you."

"_Au revoir."_

America turned back to the screen as France left. He pressed the button on the upper right. [View Points Gained?] His finger hovered over the "yes" button, a bit afraid of what he was going to see.

_What are you, chicken?_ A small voice taunted inside of him. _It's only a stupid point system! I… it's not like…_ He blushed as he pressed "yes", his finger recoiling back the second after he pressed it.

"Thi…" America's jaw hung open when he saw his score. "This is-!"

''''''''''

"Amazing!" Canada walked in to see Spain talking to China in the kitchen. "Wow, you're pretty good at cooking!"

"Of course!" China grinned triumphantly. "I have always treated food as serious business, and I would always cook for my siblings, so I've had plenty of practice before," he took his white apron from around his waist and hung it on the oven near him. He seemed a lot happier now that he was out of those maid clothes, even if what he was wearing was just a plain shirt and red pants. "Still, it would be better if 法國 (France) and 意大利 (Italy) were to return already. It would be troublesome if I ended up making something you Westerners wouldn't like aru."

"I'm sure it will be all right," Spain placed a dish in the sink and started to wash it along with other utensils, still facing China as he talked. "Although you'll have to be careful with the Italies. Italy may not look it, but he's a gourmet; the same goes for his brother. Man, I can't tell you how picky Romano is when it comes to food. And then France- Hey, where are you going?"

"Going to look for them," China answered, already on his way to the entrance hall. "If they come in here while I'm gone, tell them to start without me aru."

"Alright," Spain shrugged as he returned to washing the dishes. Canada sat down on the armchair as China walked out muttering something under his breath about cooking. He picked up a book and started to read, not planning to do anything else. After some time, Canada heard the water flow behind him stop.

"Oh, Canada is that you?" Canada looked up from his book to see Spain walking towards him. He was wearing a blue jacket over a black shirt and some jeans. "_Lo siento,_ I didn't notice you over there."

_Well that's a first._ "Oh no, I was being quiet, so it's natural you didn't notice me," he placed his book away. "I see you like China's cooking."

"Huh? Oh, you saw that huh?" Spain took a seat on the couch beside him. "Well, it _did_ taste good, although it's certainly something I wasn't used to. You see, I normally have Ita's or Roma's cooking."

"Ah, really?" Canada had expected Italy to cook, but not really Romano. As far as he knew, Romano didn't cook for other people. _But then again, if Italy cooks, why not Romano? _ "Personally, I'm used to quite a mixture of cuisine. I've had France's cooking, England's cooking, and America's cooking before. There are some more, but I don't want to bore you with the food I've had."

"Nah, it's fine," Spain leaned back on the couch. "You seem pretty calm about this whole thing," he suddenly said.

"Really?" Canada frowned. "That's not true in the very least. If someone's calm about it, that would be you. You seem to be taking everything in stride."

Spain chuckled in reply. "When you have friends like Prussia and France, you learn to expect the unexpected."

"I suppose so, they are rather- what are you doing?" Canada squirmed a bit when he realized that Spain had been staring at him analytically.

"Huh? Oh I'm sorry," Spain reverted back to his default smiley state. "I was just wondering how you plan to- what was it?- 'gain points'. You don't seem to be trying anything so far."

"Neither are you, you know," Canada smiled. "It's only Day 4; we have plenty of time. Plus, I'm still not sure how to handle this whole thing actually. I mean, do we just date each other or what?"

"Good point," Spain let out a little sigh. "I think your method works the best in this situation."

"What method?"

"Just being yourself," Spain said simply. He stood up and stretched. "Well, I'm betting France is coming here anytime soon, so I'll be upstairs reading a book or whatnot until the food's ready."

"All… right," Canada said as he watched Spain go. He picked his book back up and returned to reading. _Spain… has a lot more going on in him than he lets on, doesn't he?_ Canada chuckled under his breath. _Honestly though, I'm actually pretty worried about this whole thing. I mean…_

_ My "method" can't exactly work when most people don't notice me, can't it?_

''''''''''

Romano trudged through the path, kicking the occasional stone along the way.

_Stupid Veneziano, acting the same as ever…_ he thought. _Doesn't he understand the gravity of this situation?_ Normally, Romano would've been a lot more irritated, but he was too distracted to actually be. _Honestly, this whole thing is so troublesome… I mean, out of the both of us, Veneziano would probably have a higher chance at leaving than me. _Romano had taken a look at his scores, and they weren't exactly the best. Veneziano, being the idiot he was, just blurted out all of his points, and it was no surprise that he already managed to gain more points than Lovino... by a _lot_. _Now that I think about it, Veneziano will be just fine in a game where you have to be nice to people._

Romano sighed. It wasn't like he _wasn't_ nice; it was just that he was the more… _abrasive_ one of the two. _Ah, this is depressing me. _He sighed again. _Now that I think about it, where is he anyways? … Oh yeah, he, Germany, and Prussia went back to the house after they went to the cinema._ Romano had tagged along, but it was obvious that both brothers preferred Italy's company more than his. Annoyed by it all, he ended up leaving, which was why he was now walking to the beach, the place that was farthest away from anything else in the game.

Romano walked the rest of the way in silence, knowing that his thoughts would only serve to depress him more. Soon enough, he found himself near the familiar sight of the beach. The sun shone over the calm sea, the sharp crisp smell of the beach surrounding him. He visibly relaxed, feeling at peace at the quiet environment.

_That's it, this is_ my_ place._ Romano had found it first, so why shouldn't he have the right to claim the place? It was rather pretty too…

Something caught Romano's eye. He felt vaguely irritated that someone would be here… But not before he realized who that someone _was_.

_Shi-! _ Crouched up ahead was a figure wearing a navy blue leather jacket and black pants. Those were rather normal clothes, but the beige-blond hair and pink scarf gave it away. _It's Russia!_ His knees began to feel weak. _M-maybe if I move away f-fast enough, I can get out of here u-unseen._ He started to back away slowly, turning around to break into a run… but not before he tripped himself.

"Are you okay?" Romano spat out dirt and then turned up to see Russia kneeling over him. The latter looked concerned. "That was quite a fall, da?"

"Err…" _Spain, where the hell are you? ! Help me dammit!_

"Do you need help getting up?" Russia offered him a hand. Romano stared at it, wondering if he really should accept it.

"T-thanks…" Romano took the hand and got up. He dusted his backside then looked back at Russia, who was just looking at him. _Somebody help me…_

"You're welcome," Russia was smiling to him calmly. Romano just stared back, a question on the tip of his tongue. "Aren't you going to leave yet?" Russia asked, tilting his head.

"Erm, why are you here?" Romano blurted out. He clapped his hand over his mouth, instantly regretting asking. "Bhus ifnoah bat I saif (Just ignore what I said)!"

Russia _had _ignored what he said… about ignoring what he had said. "It's warm here isn't it? I like warm places, so I'm here. If there were sunflowers here, it would be perfect."

"Sunflowers?" Probably the most unexpected answer Romano has ever received from Russia. "You… Sunflowers…"

"What about it?"

"Nothing," Romano shook his head, not willing to risk trouble by commenting.

"What about you?"

"Excuse me?" Romano took a step back at the sudden question.

"You asked me a question, so I will ask one in return," he was still smiling. "So what are you doing here in my area?"

"_Your_ area? ! I found it fir-" Romano gulped when he realized that it was_ Russia_ he was snapping back to. He instantly tensed up, waiting for Russia's infamous 'purple aura' to come. Surprisingly, it never came.

Russia giggled. "I like you Romano," he declared. "You remind me of someone else I know."

"Sure…" Whoever Romano was like, he could deal with Russia himself. Just let it be _anyone_ than him right now. "I'll just be going now…"

"How come?"

Romano turned red as Russia just fixated his gaze on him. "Yeah, well… Err…" Without another word, Romano just spun around and sprinted out of there.

''''''''''

"Mr. England?" Japan called out. _Where is he?_ It was almost time for dinner, and he was the only one who was not at the house. Japan walked towards the clock tower, hoping that England was there. When he walked to the clock tower, he found England standing in front of it, apparently in deep thought. In front of him were double wooden doors gilded with metal, an old-fashioned know on both sides of the door. _That's odd,_Japan thought as he saw the door. _That wasn't there before._

"Mr. England," England turned around. He was wearing a gray hoodie and jeans, the clothes unnaturally simple compared to yesterday's get-up. "It's almost time for dinner."

"Ah, really?" England looked at the darkening sky. "Sorry, I'll be there in a few. I must have spent the whole day here and didn't notice."

_The whole day?_ "Excuse me, but why did you stay here the whole day?"

"I've been trying to open this door," England answered, turning back to the door. "It wasn't here before, and when I try to open it, nothing I do works," he brought a hand to his chin. "I wonder what's behind this door…"

"Perhaps it is the way out?"

"Perhaps…" England sighed. "This game just gets more confusing by the second. Actually, this whole thing is one big mystery. For one thing, why in the world would someone trap us here with hopes of pairing nations together?"

Japan walked up to England's side. "Truthfully, I do have my suspicions of who the creator it might be, but even I doubt that they would go to such an extreme extent."

"I have my guesses as well, but all of it is useless unless we know how they managed to trap us in the first place. If it was by magic, I could narrow it down to a few people, but no magic was involved at all. And technology is still out of the question…" he pushed his hair up with a hand. "This probably isn't helping, is it?"

"There is nothing wrong with asking questions," Japan smiled slightly at the younger nation. "Without questions, there can be no answers. I'm sure that the answers you are looking for will be revealed sooner or later; you just need to be patient."

"I suppose…" England didn't seem completely satisfied with the answer but seemed to have accepted it nonetheless. "Oh well, I suppose the food is growing cold now. Thanks for fetching me."

"You're welcome," Japan replied as both nations started to walk back, England walking ahead. Meanwhile, Japan looked back at the door.

_I wonder why it chose to show up now…_ He thought and then shook his head. _I'm sure that in enough time, the answer will come. On the other hand, telling the others would be the best decision. Maybe one of them will be able to open the door. _ He took one last look at it before turning back to catch up with England, who was quite a distance away now. Unbeknownst to him, the door handles briefly flashed a darker color, the door opening a bit before closing back shut again.

* * *

_If you know Scribblenauts, you _should_ know that quote. My gosh, that quote is just too awesome yet hilarious at the same time XD Anyways, these normal days will be sprinkled in along with the events, and they're basically just plot-relevant fillers (I don't even think that makes sense XD). My headcanon is that Russia is softer around the things he likes, and since he likes warm places, he was softer when Romano saw him on the beach. On another note, feel free to suggest something, whether it be for events or for these normal days. It may or may not pop up depending on what the idea is, but it most likely will. Either way, I would appreciate some suggestions. Other than that, I hope you like the story so far and that you'll stick around!_

_**Edit:** Thanks to ToraToraRawrXxX for correcting the French "You're welcome". It is now changed.  
_


	6. Day 4-5: The Surprise

_Day 4_

England yawned as he lifted the covers off his bed, preparing to go to sleep. After a rather eventful dinner, his fatigue had caught up with him and he was forced to retire early. Meanwhile, the others were karaokeing downstairs.

_None of them seemed to be fazed by the news of the door._ He recalled, remembering how the others were initially puzzled by the sudden appearance of the door until they were distracted by Prussia getting drunk. _ Seems like it's up to me to solve it… _He yawned, lying on the bed and turning off the lights on the lamp on the bedside table. His room was a small, white-walled room with comfy green carpet. Four beds were on the four corners of the room, each one having their own bedside table. England had claimed the bed on the upper left, right in front of one of the two windows that were at the back of the room.

He laid his head on his pillows, hoping that the other nations he was sharing a room with wouldn't need to wake him up. On the first day, everyone just picked their rooms with three rules in mind: nobody sleeps with anybody they hate; no one sleeps with another person on the same bed (although that one was unnecessary seeing as how the bed could only fit one person. And no, he did not mean it that way when he said 'sleeping with another person'); and finally, Spain, Prussia, and France were not allowed to be in the same room. England ended up sharing a room with Japan, Romano, and Canada, most of which were rather level-headed nations. Spain, Prussia, and France ended up sharing the room next to theirs, but Russia's presence seemed to have stopped them from doing anything too ridiculous. The rest ended up sleeping downstairs wherever they could, although there were luckily some mattresses stashed away at the cabinet in the corridor for them to sleep on.

England sat back up again, rubbing the back of his head where something hit it. He turned on the lights and then lifted up his pillow, finding a small box underneath it.

_What the…?_ England warily took the lid off the box, only to find a slip of paper written underneath it. He picked it up, a weird scrawl written on it.

"_Diversis,_" England read softly out loud. He shuddered a bit after saying the words, but otherwise felt no change. He shrugged.

_I suppose the creator ran out of ideas_, he thought as he closed the lights again and lay back down. _If a word is all they're throwing at us, then it could be that they don't have anything planned for us._ He placed the blanket over himself and closed his eyes. _Only 4 out of 30 days has passed…_ He thought, his mind starting to blank. _We have a long way to go…_

* * *

_Day 5_

He woke up, blinking the sunlight off his eyes. He looked around expectantly, only for his expression to change into one of disappointment.

_I'm still stuck here…_ He sighed and got out of bed, surprised to see that the perspective of the room changed. _What the-? I'm sure that my bed is over there…_ Puzzled, he stood up, stumbling a bit as he did so.

_What in the world…?_ As he caught his balance, he was surprised to see that his feet were fair-skinned, even though he had olive brown skin.

"What is going on…?" His eyes widened as he realized that his voice had changed. "Wha…" His hands went up to his face, and sure enough, he felt bushy caterpillar brows on his face… eyebrows that were not his. "Wha…" he looked around himself, realizing that his clothes were different as well. "What the hell is happening here? !"

"Dude, can you keep it down?" He looked to his right to see Japan sitting up, a rather groggy expression on his face. "Some people are trying to sleep here!" He was surprised to see that the normally emotionless Asian nation had on a clearly irritated expression. Japan turned to him, his expression changing into one of confusion. "England, what are you doing here? Did you sleep downstairs too?"

"I'm not England!" He stumbled backwards onto the bed and pointed shakingly at 'Japan'. "A-and you're not Japan!"

"Of course I'm not," Japan quirked an eyebrow. "Why would you think tha-?" Japan froze as his hands went to his face, his eyes scanning around him. "Wait. I fell asleep with Texas on my face, but now it's gone," he felt for his hair, his face showing panic. "And where's Nantucket? !"

"Japan, will you please be quiet?" Both nations turned towards the lower right, where Canada was looking back at them. Canada smiled. "Although it's nice to see you so energetic in the morning. Energy is good, da? But what am I doing here? I'm sure I had fallen asleep in the other room."

"C-Canada?" Japan's voice shook. "Th-that's not how my brother normally is… Just who are you? !" Canada frowned in puzzlement.

"Canada? Why, I am Russia and you are Japan," Canada tilted his head up with a finger. "Although you certainly seem odd today Japan."

"That's 'cause I'm America!" Japan jumped off his bed, distress in every action. "What's going on here? !"

"I don't know!" He lifted his arms up in anxiety, Japan and Canada turning to him as he spoke. "All I know is that I woke up and then-"

"Bruder, will you keep it down?" His head moved mechanically as the occupant of the bed on the lower left sat up. "It's too early in the morning for thi- Why is everyone staring at me?" 'Romano' looked at them with a perplexed face. "And since when did I end up here? I was sure that I had slept downstairs."

Romano fainted.

'''''

"So let me get this straight…" 'Japan' (who was really America) paced around in front of the gathered nations. They were all sitting around the living room, each one looking uncomfortable in their new bodies. "We've all switched bodies," he took a deep breath. "Anyone have any idea how this happened?"

"Well," it was odd seeing Italy with his eyebrows knitted together. What was even stranger was him actually opening his eyes. "I found a box with a slip of paper in it with the words 'Diversis' on them and read them aloud. Seeing as how I was using magic not too long before I was given the box, I may have accidentally recited a magic spell upon reading the words."

"Idiot, this is your fault then," England scowled. Truthfully, Romano in England's body didn't change much. "Now I'm stuck in this stupid body."

"What was that Romano? !" Italy snarled. "It's not such a pleasant thing being stuck in this body either! I'd rather not have this body at all! You know how peculiar it feels when something tugs on this idiotic curl? !"

"What happens?" Italy blushed as Japan turned to him, his interest piqued.

"Err… Well, that's uh…"

"Ve, what are we going to do now?" Prussia's eyes were closed and he was uncharacteristically worried. "Germany, what should we do? !"

"We should all calm down first," Romano was sitting up straight on the couch, a hand on his chin on a pensive state. "England did not know what he was doing, so it's hardly fair to blame him."

"We should focus more on returning to our original bodies," France's face told nothing of what he was thinking. "I doubt that even if Mr. England had not recited the words, the creator would have found a way to switch our bodies nonetheless."

"_Oui,_ as much as I would love to blame _Angleterre_, I would rather beat him up with my magnificent body instead of Germany's," Germany flipped his hair in a distressed manner. China stared at him.

"That is just downright _weird,_" China let out a small chuckle. "I never want to see West doing a hair-flip again as long as I live."

"_Si,_ it is unusual to see Germany doing such things," although Russia was still smiling, he did not seem menacing in the least. "Truth be told, the manner in which our bodies have been switched is rather amusing, isn't it?"

"It is rather amusing, isn't it?" Canada, on the other hand, was giggling in a rather off-putting way. "I hope you don't mistreat my body though. It would be sad if I had to do anything to it in this state, da?"

"Err…" America fidgeted and seemed to grow smaller. "I say we should just-"

"A text box appeared aru!" Spain pointed behind Japan, effectively interrupting America. All nations turned to it, with Japan reading off the words.

"'Hello! Hey, you know how I had said we couldn't turn you into animals? Well, we found a substitute instead! We're getting pretty close to being able to figure out how to alter your physical appearance though, so have fun in your new bodies until then!'" The words changed. "'Oh and we hid something here last night. If one of you manages to find it, then we'll grant you a wish! We won't accept any wishing for point changes or exits, so think wisely! That is all, and hope you have fun :D!'" The text box disappeared.

"You know," Japan was scowling at the place where the text box had disappeared. "This game becomes less fun the more I play it."

* * *

_Japan } France } Germany } Romano } England } Italy } Prussia } China } Spain } Russia } Canada } America } Japan. Short update. Thanks to Yanelle for helping me with ideas! I basically picked the ones that amused me most (e.g. France as Germany, America as Japan, Italy as Prussia) then paired the spares. Hope you liked it, and correct me if I was wrong!_

_P.S. I don't normally have France act so girly, but when the idea came, I just HAD to have Germany do a hair-flip XD Seriously, just try imagining it._


	7. Day 5-6: The Find

_As you all know, everyone's bodies got switched. As fun as that is, that leaves the question of how I'll write it. I can go two ways with this: write it by the body or write it by the spirit. My friend suggested spirit since it's less confusing, so I'll write it that way. Here's a reminder of the body switching order: __Japan } France } Germany } Romano } England } Italy } Prussia } China } Spain } Russia } Canada } America } Japan. At each separate part, I'll place in a reminder of the bodies they're in, and it will look like this: Body (Country inhabiting body). Anyways, I hope you enjoy today's update!_

* * *

_Day 5_

"What are we going to do?"

Everyone turned to America… Canada… Canada in America's body, whichever works. Canada shrunk back, his action wholly unusual for his normally up-and-front brother. "W-well, we have to go find it, don't we?"

"That would be the smartest thing to do," China nodded. "I just hope there's not a time limit aru."

"Ve, it's strange to see big brother Spain saying 'aru'," Italy giggled, the sound a stark contrast from Prussia's normally hearty laugh. Spain laughed.

"It's very odd to see everyone acting so out of character, isn't it?" Romano scowled at Spain, apparently ignoring the fact that the latter was in Russia's body.

"I don't know about you, but I want to be in my body as fast as I can. I mean, I'm starting to see some really weird stuff and it's- what the hell, is that a flying mint bunny?"

"He followed me all the way here?" England looked around. After a while, disappointment showed on his face. "So this is what the world looks like without the Sight… I don't know how you guys live without it."

"If you will permit me to speak, can you please close your eyes more Mr. England?" Japan asked. "It's unnerving for Italy's eyes to be so wide open."

"Indeed, I find it far too limpid," Germany nodded. "But enough side-tracking; even though the creators did not specify a time limit, I think that it would be in everyone's best interest to find this mystery item as fast as we can."

"Yeah, so everyone split up into groups of two and pick a place to scout!" America walked to the table in the middle of the living room and slammed his hands down on it. "Unless I counted wrong, there are six places we can check: this house, the main plaza, the clock tower, the movie house, the beach, and the park. Since there are twelve of us and two heads are better than one, everyone grab a partner and pick a place!" He fist-pumped into the air. "We can do this!"

A hand clasped his right shoulder. He turned to see Russia standing over him, his- Canada's- violet eyes blank. "America…" he started out slowly. "Please don't ruin my image of Japan."

''''''''

_Spain (China), Romano (Germany)_

"Aiyaa…" China got off the fountain and shook the water off his feet. "We'll never find the mystery item at this rate!"

He scowled as he unrolled his denim jeans and put on his slippers. _I doubt the creators added in hidden areas, but with their recent actions, I wouldn't be surprised._ China sighed as Germany came into view.

"I made a thorough investigation of each building," he reported. It was a bit odd, Romano acting like a diligent soldier, but China could care less at this point.

"And?"

"Nothing," Germany frowned. "Judging by your expression, I presume that you found nothing."

"Correct," China plopped down on the side of the fountain. "It doesn't help that we have absolutely no idea what we're looking for. For all we know, it can be a freaking coin aru!"

"Agreed," Germany sat down beside him. "But from what I can tell, the creator seems to be the type who wouldn't be that cruel."

"Not cruel?" China scoffed. "They stuck us in a video game!"

Germany stared at him as China sulked. "Many are probably saying this," he started. "But seeing Spain act this way is a new experience to me."

"Can you please refrain from commenting on the body switching?" China shuddered. "I don't even want to think of how 普魯士 (Prussia) is acting in my body…"

Germany chuckled. "I would be worried as well if bruder was stuck in my body."

China thought of how Germany lived with him every day. "Just how do you live with such an energetic person everyday?"

"You get used to it," he was smiling. "And he's not like that all the time. He can surprise people sometimes with what he's really like."

"Is that so?"

"Yes, although it doesn't happen often. Most of the time, I have to watch over him and a few others."

"Your life sounds eventful aru." China commented.

Germany sighed. Whether it be spending it with Italy or Bruder, I never seem to get a break."

"You need a break, that's what. These kinds of things take its toll on you aru," China stated. "I find that food is the best cure for everything."

"I'll take you up on that offer," Germany stood up. "In the meanwhile, let's continue searching."

'''''''

_France (Japan), Canada (Russia)_

"Did you find anything, Japan?"

Japan turned to Russia, the other smiling at him. "No, I have not," he said rather bluntly. Personally, the colder nation was not Japan's favorite in the world, but he couldn't voice that out loud. Russia giggled.

"There's not much to this movie house, is there?"

Japan made a noncommittal murmur as ducked down to check under the seat. Somehow, he had gotten Russia as a partner and the movie house as their search location. At the moment, they were looking under the seats, having already searched the building for any hidden nooks or crannies.

"No there is not," Japan stood up and dusted his hands on his designer jeans. "But there's still the chance that the mystery item is hidden here, so we must not give up."

Russia chuckled. "It is unusual to see France this calm and composed. Normally, he'd have left a long time ago."

"Perhaps," Japan gave a small shrug. "The same applies to you as well Mr. Russia. I doubt any one of us is used to seeing Canada acting this way."

"I suppose."

They continued their search in silence. Neither had anything in particular to say to the other, and neither had anything of particular interest to report. For some reason though, Japan felt as if the atmosphere around them was stuffed. _That's odd. I feel as if there's something bothering him._

Something loomed behind him. "Should we go to another place?"

"I don't think that would be wise. The others are searching the other areas, and we were assigned here, so I doubt that…"

Russia was wearing a red and white jersey and blue sweatpants. In addition to that was his typical scarf, today's being the pink one he used back in the day. Nothing imposing about that, especially since Japan was now almost his height because of the body switch. Plus, seeing as how this was basically just Canada with a scarf, there should be nothing wrong. And yet…

Japan kept his face blank as he turned towards the other yet again. He was met with an oppressive aura. While Russia normally had on a dominant aura, this one was tinged with-

"Alright. There's no harm in asking, da?"

Russia turned back and resumed his search, moving in large strides toward the middle row. Japan couldn't control the little shudder that went through him.

_Why does it seem that Russia is angry?_

'''''''

_America (Canada), England (Romano)_

"...should really not get drunk. Once he's drunk, then everything instantly becomes hell."

"I agree," Canada nodded in agreement as he sat up. They had finished their search a long time ago (unless the mystery item was buried in the ground, then they were done. After all, there weren't many places to hide something in a park). They ended up just hanging out in the park, casually talking with each other instead of returning to the house. "But you have to admit, Prussia makes a rather fun drunk… More fun than me at least."

"Sure, because getting everyone into karaoke is such a fun thing to do," Romano rolled his eyes, an action not unfamiliar on England's face. He was wearing brown trousers and a white shirt under a fern green vest. He was leaning back, his hands on the ground. "I almost became deaf by that Prussian's screaming!"

"Come on, not everyone was horrible at karaoke. I remember a certain nation recording a certain nation's singing."

Romano looked away. "I have no clue who you're talking about."

"Are you sure?" Canada smirked at him.

"You're an evil little thing Canada. I'd hate to be related to you," despite this, Romano smiled. "Karaoke was pretty fun though… Until things got out of hand," he took in an irritated breath. "When we get back to the house, we're burying all the alcohol we can get our hands on in this park."

"Prussia wasn't that drunk you know… I think," Canada gave a small smile. "At least he was the only one drunk… anymore, and we'd have hung-over nations on top of body switching."

"Drunks are a pain in the ass. When anyone else gets drunk, they're either weird beyond imagination or too violent," Romano got up and made a '1' on his left hand. "Take Brows here as an example; put a gin bottle and him together, and you suddenly have a naked waiter."

"_Partially_ naked waiter," Canada corrected. "You should see America when he's drunk. All _hell_ breaks loose when he's even the _slightest_ tipsy. And then there's France…"

Romano made a face. "I don't even want to _know_ about that one. Probably the only one here who can legitimately hold their liquor would be that Russian," he shuddered. "I told you about that beach thing right? Man, that guy's scary…"

"He does have that effect, doesn't he? Although I heard that he used to be a sweet kid."

"Where'd you hear that?"

"Ukraine," memories of the Slavic nation came into mind. "When we'd talk, she'd often talk about Russia. The way she talks about him… maybe he's not such a bad guy, eh?"

"Doesn't matter, it's none of my business," Romano shrugged. "Back to the original topic, Spain's a _terrifying _drunk…"

'''''''

_Russia (Spain), Prussia (Italy)_

"Ahh!" Spain lay down on the warm sand, the sunlight warming every inch of his body. They _should_ have been searching for the mystery item, but had immediately forgotten about it once they reached the beach. "The sunlight feels amazing Ita!"

"The water does too!" Spain looked up to see Italy splashing around the water. He had shed his clothes so that he was only wearing an unbuttoned, long-sleeved shirt and his boxers. Spain still found it funny to see his friend Prussia wearing an innocently happy expression and playing in the water like a small child as opposed to his more maniacal personality. He was also not used to seeing Prussia's eyes closed, but hey, he could live with it. "I wish the others were here; then we could have a party!"

"No worries Ita, I have no doubt that that will happen sometime in the future!" Spain sat up and stretched his arms. "The only problem is that we don't have water guns."

Italy looked at him questioningly. "What would you need the water guns for?"

"What else would we use them for?" Spain replied with a laugh. "Oi creators!" He looked up to the sky and cupped his mouth. "If you're listening, throw in some water guns and swim trunks!" An idea came to his mind. "And more tomatoes! Definitely more tomatoes!"

"And pasta!" Italy joined in, screaming at the sky as well. They looked at each other and then burst into laughter a few seconds later.

"Say Ita," Spain said after a while when he had calmed down. "I'm a bit curious on what you think of this whole situation. You seem to be taking everything in stride."

"Why shouldn't I?" Italy got off the water and sat down next to Spain. "No one's been hurt, so I'm not really that worried."

"I suppose that's true…" Spain trailed off thoughtfully. "But what about those points? What if we don't get enough by the end of the 30 days?"

"Well…" Italy leaned back and lifted his legs, kicking them up and down a bit. "We'll just find out, won't we? And I'm sure that they'll figure something out before then!"

"And if we don't?"

"We get points when we're nice to each other, right?" Spain nodded. "As long as we're nice to each other, I doubt anything bad will happen!"

Spain looked at him for a while then burst into laughter. "You're really a piece of work, aren't you Ita?" He ruffled his hair, forgetting that it was technically Russia ruffling Prussia's hair, a mental image that was somewhat unimaginable. "But that's what's good about you!"

"Really?" Italy smiled. "Thanks!"

Spain returned Italy's grin with one of his own. "_¡De nada!_ Now then…" He stood up and offered the other a hand. "Do you want to race?"

'''''''

_Japan (America), China (Prussia)_

"Bet you five bucks it's a laptop."

"Bet you ten that it's beer."

"No way, why would it be beer?"

"Why would it be a laptop?"

"So we can play games!"

"So we can drink beer!"

America and Prussia glared at each other. They had scoured the house as much as they could, but eventually quit in favor of guessing what the mystery item actually was. So far, they had gone from various foods to even the most nonsensical things like unicorns. Somehow, it managed to turn intense. Each was standing at the other end of the table in front of the couch, their hands on the table.

"Look here kid," Prussia placed on a somewhat condescending tone. "Beer owns laptop. There's nothing to it."

"Look here old man," America answered with a half-sneer. "Laptops equal video games and therefore beats beer."

"You need more booze."

"You need a better life."

"Hey, I have an awesome life!" Prussia said indignantly. America snickered.

"Says the one who lives in Germany's basement." Prussia huffed.

"My time's over so now it's West's turn to take over," he shrugged. "I don't mind living in his basement since he's strong enough to support us both… Although it _does _get boring from time to time…"

"Video games man, video games, _that's_ what you need," America leaned back. "Or you can find a girlfriend or something. Seems like you have to now."

"No kidding," Prussia chuckled. "How are you holding up? I have yet to check my points, and I remember France telling me that you had checked yours."

America looked away. "Err… Let's just say that they aren't doing so well."

"How so?"

"Ugh…" A light blush rose up from America's neck. "You don't think that… negative points are a _bad_ thing, are they?"

Prussia looked at him for about five seconds. Finally, he burst into raucous laughter. "_Negative points?_ How the hell did you get negative points already? !" America was beet red.

"I don't know! I just did!" His face grew redder as Prussia kept laughing. "Shut up, it's not that funny!"

"It's fucking hilarious!"

"Agh!" America stood up. "Let's just go back to searching, okay? !" Prussia stood up as well, still laughing a bit.

"Oh no, I don't think we're going to be doing that." He leaned forward and clasped America's shoulders. "America my sort-of former apprentice, I think it is time you were blessed with awesome."

America just stared at him like he was crazy. "What do you mean by _that_?"

"It means that the awesome me will help you hook up!" America just stared at him again.

"…I'll pass."

"Too bad," Prussia grinned like a maniac. "Kesesese, prepare for the most awesome dating advice you'll ever get in your life!"

As he laughed, only one thought came to America's head: _I'm screwed._

'''''''''

_Germany (France), Italy (England)_

"Tell me again why we're partners in this."

France looked at the intensely annoyed Brit, noting how strange it was for _Italy_ of all nations to have that expression on his face. His arms were crossed over his chest, the sleeveless black jacket he wore over his white t-shirt crumpling slightly. One leg was slung over the other, his black designer jeans looking tighter on him with that pose. France chuckled. "_Cher,_ I do not know myself."

England sighed. "The sooner we get this done, the faster I can get away from you." Despite saying that, he didn't make a move out of the bench. While France had been doing all the hard work, England had been doing who-knows-what, later saying that he was exhausted after using his magic to search for the mystery item throughout the whole known area of the game. France took a seat next to him, ignoring the disgruntled noise the other made.

"I don't see what your problem is; _I_ would love to be partnered with myself."

"Seeing as how you do that every day, I don't see why I have to."

France just laughed the insult off. "You never fail to amuse me, _Angleterre._"

England curled his lip, increasingly becoming more irritated. "Bugger off and get back to work France."

"And you? I don't remember you doing any work." The other sighed again.

"I don't have time for this," he said. "Just go find the mystery item already and get us back in our original bodies. I'd rather not have Germany's reputation be ruined because of you."

"What's that supposed to mean? I don't see you doing poor Italy a favor by being in his body. By the way…" France reached out a hand. "You mentioned something about that curl?"

England immediately backed off, almost falling off the bench. "Don't you even _think_ of pulling on it! Accidentally got it caught on something and- ngh!"

France watched with a mixture of fascination and entertainment as he watched England's expression change into a priceless reaction. "Ah…" he tugged on the curl again, lighting the other's face on fire. "So _that's_ what that curl does."

"Bastard," England swatted his hand away with a scowl, although his intense blush was what distracted France the most. "Touch me again and I'll make sure that you won't make it to the next day."

"Ha! I'd like to see you try," France sneered. "And you do realize that this is technically little Italy threatening_ Germany_, don't you?"

"Does it matter?" England cracked a knuckle as he stood up, the smug appearance wholly unusual on Italy's face. "I can still beat you black and blue in this body, so I suggest you start running."

France stood up and loomed over the other, being able to look over his head. "_Angleterre, _I can easily- what is that?"

He pushed the other away as he ran to another bench. He bent down, his eyes coming into contact with a shiny item.

"Well, what is it?" France didn't look up at England. Instead, he touched the shiny item, which lit up at the touch. France shielded his eyes, and when he opened them, the item was gone.

"What the-?"

"Congratulations!" France stood up as a voice behind them spoke. They turned around to see a flying white bunny. "You found the mystery item! What wish will you be making today?"

"Quick, wish for something!" France closed his eyes and said the first thing on his mind.

"I wish we were back in our own sexy bodies!"

The bunny nodded. "Wish accepted. Tomorrow, you will all be back in, quote-on-quote, 'sexy bodies'. Thank you and I hope you have a nice playtime!"

The bunny disappeared. They stared at the spot where it had disappeared, both trying to digest what just happened. Finally, France took a breath.

"Let's go back and tell the others."

* * *

_Day 6_

England opened his eyes, blinking several times to wake up. He sat up.

_Please tell me that we're back to normal… _He thought. After they had told everyone yesterday that they had wished them back to normal, everyone was ready to just switch back. They all ended up sleeping early _just _so that tomorrow could come faster.

England lifted up his hands, rejoicing to see that it was back to his normal skin tone.

"Finally, I thought that we would never-" He paused, noticing that something was off. "Wait a minute…"

It took him a few seconds, but he finally found what was wrong. "France…" England's breath quickened. "_YOU'RE AN IDIOT! ! !"_

* * *

_Merry Christmas everybody! Did anyone notice that I had updated all my stories on one day _and _put up 2 one-shots? I had held them off _just _so that I could upload them on Christmas, so Merry Christmas! A fair warning: there are some pairings that I can't do justice. I'll try to portray them right, but seeing as how I don't normally pair them nor do I read them, I apologize if it's lacking in any way. At any rate, have a good one!_


	8. Day 6: The Advice

_I apologize for using Translate in all languages but English. Please correct me if I'm wrong._

* * *

_Day 6_

Everyone was back in their normal bodies. The wish had been granted. Everything was fine in terms of game progress, and yet…

And yet something was still wrong.

The countries gathered around the living room, an awkward yet tense atmosphere gathering among them. Italy fidgeted in his seat at the armchair at the right. The other armchair was inhabited by Romano, who looked ready to explode. Russia and China were leaning on the island at the kitchen, a neutral yet faintly disturbed expression on their faces. Spain, Germany, Japan, and Prussia sat on the couch, two amused, two stoic. America was sitting at his normal place in front of the coffee table next to quiet Canada; waves of irritation flowed out of the American like a storm. He looked up to look at the two people behind the couch, one holding the other up through their shirt.

"When you told us that you had wished us back to normal," America started, his voice coming out higher like everyone else's. Like the others, he too was shorter. Nantucket had disappeared from his head and he now had on shoulder-length, wavy, amber-colored hair. Two star barrettes were on either side of his hair, making him one of the few nations who were given hair accessories this morning. "Just what _exactly _did you wish for?"

"This _idiot,_" England hissed, his now-normal eyebrows furrowed at the center to form a glare. His hair was longer and tied into two long pigtails at either side of his head, the ends slightly curled. Glasses framed his green eyes; he had complained about not being able to see very well, so America had lent him his glasses, finding that with his new form, he didn't need them. Like the rest, he was wearing the clothes his body had worn yesterday, but with his shorter form, it was now a tad bit too big on him. "Worded the wish wrong and ended up saying 'I wish we were back in our own sexy bodies', which has somehow transformed us into women."

"I didn't think that they would take it literally!" France's hair color changed into a dark brown shade, his hair tied up into a French knot. His normal blue eyes changed into a violet hue, ones of which were filled with a slight terror. He smacked England's hand, prompting the other to let go of him. France took a deep breath once his feet were on the ground and then stood up straight. "When I told my wish to that bunny, I didn't expect the creators to twist the meaning of the words!"

"Does it matter?" Romano sat with one knee over the other, his arms crossed around his chest. Not much had changed for him, except that he was now a girl with dark, slightly wavy, shoulder-length hair. "The creator turned us into women and now we're stuck in this form for who knows how long!"

"Calm down Italy's brother dearest… err, sister dearest," Prussia smiled. He had long, wild white hair and his trademark red eyes changed so that it was now pink on the top and blue on the bottom. Somehow, a scar managed to manifest under his eye on his left cheek. "While Franny was being an idiot, you have to admit that this form isn't as bad as the other things we had to do."

"You're just saying that because you have a scar now," China scowled. His hair was now a deep auburn and was tied up in a set of buns. "And at least we were all in our_ actual _forms those times. I sort of wish we were back in the days of wearing those maid clothes aru."

"You'll jinx yourself if you say that China," Spain teased. His hair was tied in a bun with a flower on its side, two curls of hair falling on either side of his face. "The creator might turn us into maids on top of being girls."

"Maybe he or she will give us the water guns you asked for then," Italy added, his eyes- which took on a more amber shade- wide. As opposed to his normal weak appearance, he looked like a badass now with his curlier and lighter brown hair tied in a ponytail, the curl on the side of his face now wilder. Japan raised an eyebrow.

"Water guns?" He echoed confusedly. He now sported a bob hairstyle, his normal evenly cut bangs now uneven and more spread apart, a flower hairpin on the left side of his face. His eyes were also more amber in color, with an additional shine to it. Italy nodded vigorously.

"Yup, water guns!"

"Should I even ask?" Germany sighed, but a small grin formed on his face. His hair was exactly the same as it would be if he didn't slick it back all the time. Other than his hair, the only other notable difference from his turning female was that he had rather large… tracks of land, but even then it wasn't as large as America's. "Although it is an amusing prospect…"

"It sounds like fun," Russia said wistfully. His aura had softened into a wearier one, but was still intimidating nonetheless. A small fur hat was on the left side of his longer, beige-blonde hair. His intense purple eyes were now replaced with lilac hued ones, giving him a more maternal feel. "That would be a nice break, da?"

"I'd rather have water guns instead of this too," Canada agreed. Like England, his hair was divided into long, slightly curled pigtails, two small white bows tied into them; on either side of his face were maple leaf barrettes of a faded red color. He still wore his glasses, but his eyes were now more of a violet-blue mix, giving him a cooler feel. "Even though this form is comfortable, I'd rather not-"

The typical text box appeared only centimeters away from Canada's and America's face, causing the two to jump back in shock. England squinted and read the words.

"'See, I told you we'd grant the wish!'" England sent a short yet sharp look at France before resuming reading the words on the text box. "'But we found a way to alter your appearance, and we can't pass that up, now could we? Fret not; you will all be in your normal forms by the end of the day. With that said, have a nice day!'"

Nobody said anything for a while. Finally, Romano spoke. "We're not looking for something after something has happened to us? …Now _that's_ a first."

'''''''

Japan sat outside on the porch, the cool air hitting his half-exposed legs. He had been given a powder blue halter top, the end of it slightly ruffled. White shorts exposed his pale skin, but luckily, today wasn't too cold. He sighed and looked up at the clear blue sky, enjoying the time he had to himself.

"Penny for your thoughts?"

He turned to see Spain wearing a white, pinstriped mid-length sleeved shirt and a knee-length red skirt. "Hello Mr. Spain. How are you?" Japan asked politely. Meanwhile, the other sat down next to him.

"I'm doing fine, thank you. And you?"

"I'm fine."

"That's good to know.

Neither of them said anything after the shared niceties, a silence that was soon broken. "You seem quiet lately." Spain observed out of the blue. "That's normal for you, but it seems that lately, you're not talking as much."

"What is there to say?" Spain let off a light and cheery laugh.

"That's a good point, although you might want to rethink that a little," Spain smiled. "In a game where interaction is key, talking a bit more is a good thing."

"I'll keep that in mind," he looked at Spain timidly. "Pardon me for asking, but…" Spain looked at him questioningly, waiting for him to ask his question. "You don't have anything to do with this, do you?"

Spain chuckled, a slight grin tugging at his lips. "Now why would you think that?" He asked, avoiding the question. Japan chose his next words carefully.

"It hasn't been too long since we entered this world, so I don't have much evidence for support but…" He bit his lip. "Wouldn't you be the most suspicious one? I've heard from others that you like to ask about the game and seeing as how you just did so to me…"

Spain's smile grew. "I'm only trying to make conversation. I'd rather not talk about work and I don't speak to most of the nations here on a daily basis, so what else can I talk about other than the situation we're in?"

"I see," Japan kept his face blank, trying to hide the fact that he wasn't convinced. It was always the nice ones you had to watch out for, he thought. Spain's smile didn't let up.

"It's up to you if you want to suspect me, but I'll tell you this now," his green eyes lit up with an expression Japan couldn't pinpoint. "I am not the one who built this game. Everything else, however, is left for you to speculate; I have to leave room for doubt, don't I?" he teased with a smile that didn't reach to his ears.

Silence followed afterwards, both just staring at the sky. The few clouds that did come into view rolled lazily against the endless blue expanse.

"Pity the sun here isn't real," Japan turned to Spain as he broke the silence. "Pity that everything we're feeling here, other than our own emotions of course, is only simulated."

"I suppose so," Japan leaned back. "I must admit that I never really thought about it that way."

"I figured. Not many would think like that given the circumstances."

The exchange died down after that. After a while, Spain stood up and left, leaving Japan back to his thoughts.

'

China wiped his hands on his apron. He was wearing a red mandarin shirt with gold accents with matching pants (he supposed that the creator was getting lazy when it came to his clothing choice… not that he minded though). Even though he was only making a simple thing like a sandwich, it had to be perfect. 德國 _(Germany) better like this. Took a while to get it just right. _He didn't know what kind of food the Germanic nation liked, but sandwiches were a safe bet. Probably the only thing he could assume was that Germany liked potatoes, so he made a potato sandwich.

China turned to where Japan previously sat outside. A while ago, Spain had come and conversed with the Asian nation, but then briefly left. After a while, Japan left too, barely acknowledging China's presence as he passed by the living room to wherever he was going.

_I wonder what's on his mind..._ China thought as he went back to wash his hands. _Even though our relationship is, for lack of a better word, strained_, _I _am _his older brother, aren't I?_ He sighed. _Not like he acknowledges it; the only one who really does is Korea, and well…_

Another sigh. _Of all the things to think about, I think about my siblings…_

He started to clean up as Russia came into the room. "Oh Russia," the other turned to him distractedly.

"Ah, hello China." He sat down on the couch. The tall nation was wearing a long pink coat with fur cuffs and neckline, the entire coat covering whatever else he was wearing. "Are you making a sandwich?"

"I made a sandwich," China corrected as he plopped down on the couch next to him. "What have you been doing aru?"

"Taking a nap," Indeed, the northern nation seemed rather sleepy. "I have nothing to do, so I just slept."

"You should eat something," China advised. Russia gave a slight laugh.

"I feel like too many things concern food when it comes to you." China shrugged in reply.

"Food is food. I can make something for you if you want; I just made something after all." Russia nodded.

"That sounds nice."

"Alright then," China stood back up and made his way towards the kitchen. Russia chuckled behind him.

"Спасибо Китае ... что помогло."

The voice was so low that China almost didn't hear him. China shrugged, not knowing what he meant. At least Russia seemed more relaxed now, he thought.

'

"Veneziano."

Italy turned to his brother, who was lying on his back on the bed opposite from him. He was wearing a white scoop shirt with short butterfly sleeves, his maroon skirt reaching his knees. Other than England, who was sleeping soundly at his bed at the back, they were alone. Everyone else was scattered around the game, like how Canada chose to spend the day reading in the library. France and Spain were sleeping in the room next to theirs, apparently tired from searching endlessly yesterday and facing England's wrath this morning, so the Italies couldn't hang out with them. For some reason, a lot of nations seemed to have the odd desire to sleep, but since it wasn't time for their siesta, Romano and Italy were still awake… and bored. Romano was turned to him, a listless expression on his face.

"What do you think we should do? There's not much for us to do right now."

"Flirt with each other?" Italy suggested. "We _are_ women now after all, and don't we flirt with women all the time?"

"That was when we were physically men. Things are different now," he rolled over to face the ceiling again. "Where's that potato bastard? Isn't he normally with you or something?"

"Not always," Italy frowned. He was wearing a white shirt and blue shorts, clothes that weren't really impressive but were comfortable. "I think he went over to the clock tower or something to investigate it."

Romano scowled. "Why do you know that?"

Italy sighed in exasperation. "He's my friend, so why wouldn't I know? Honestly, why do you dislike him so much? What did Germany ever do to you?"

Romano evaded the question for now. "You're always so damn clingy around him. Will it _kill_ you to not be around him?"

"I spend time with other people than Germany too you know," Italy pouted. "I'm spending time with you right now, aren't I?"

"That hardly counts." Romano scoffed, but seemed to rethink his words. "Well, I suppose it's nice to actually spend time with you at a time outside of work. You'd think siblings would have more time to spend with each other."

"Haha, yeah," Italy smiled. "We don't spend that much time with each other, do we?"

"Whose fault do you think that is?" The words would normally be biting, but a grin was evident on his face. "Look, just be careful, all right Veneziano?"

"I'll be fine _fratello_, but thanks for the advice." Behind them, they could hear England grumbling.

"Sh… ut i… t…"

Romano stuck his tongue out at him, causing Italy to giggle. Yup, it was nice spending time with his brother.

'

"_Let's get down to business~ To defeat, the-"_

"Will you be quiet?!"

Prussia laughed as America frowned at him as he scooped up a piece of his chocolate fudge cake to his mouth. Prussia was wearing a Prussian blue hoodie over a white T-shirt, short denim jeans and knee-length white boots finishing the look. America, on the other hand, was wearing a red, white, and blue top tied to the middle of her chest, a top that bared her midriff and showed off a lot of skin. As if he wasn't showing enough skin already, he was wearing minuscule denim shorts, although it helped that he was wearing a brown bomber jacket and rather long, dark brown cowboy boots to cover himself. "I phond miid ju chingin' Muran at phi."

"Dude, what the hell are you saying?" Prussia laughed again as he ate a piece of his vanilla cake. Both men- women, whatever- had gone to the café, Prussia saying that he had to refuel before their lessons began. Alfred gulped down his food and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand.

"I don't need you singing Mulan at me," Alfred repeated. Prussia waved his fork at him.

"Don't wipe your face with your arm. It's unladylike and generally unattractive."

"What do you care?" Prussia smiled pleasantly and leaned forward, resting his head on his intertwined hands.

"My, you've grown cheeky over the years… Perhaps you need some training to mellow down a bit." America shuddered.

"I've been subject to your training _once_ and my bones are _still _aching from that time," Prussia chuckled and leaned back.

"That's the spirit!" He took another bite of his cake, chewed, then swallowed. "How do you like your cake?"

"It's good," America answered truthfully. "I feel a bit bad not paying, but we can't exactly do that when there's no one to pay."

"America my boy, it's time for us to start our lessons." Prussia chuckled a little at the other's frightened reaction. "Calm down, it won't be too bad."

"With your hellacious teaching style? I think not!"

"Your terminology amuses me kid." _Who the hell uses 'hellacious'?!_ "And what do you expect me to do, give you push-ups? …Okay, maybe I would, but I'll just be helping you with your love-life."

"I think my love-life is doing fine, thank you very much."

"Says the boy with negative points." That shut him up. "Look, I've written books about these kinds of stuff before; just ask West." He wasn't going to say that he had made those books to mess with him, but hey, it was technically the truth. "I can help you with this."

America curled his lip. "Funny, I recall someone boasting about how he 'loves being alone' and how 'being alone is so great'."

"That's by choice, but it's not like I don't know how to sweep people off their feet," Prussia finished his cake and downed the glass of water he had with him. "Last chance~ we're in a dating game, and negative points isn't something you should aim for."

America resumed eating his cake in a thoughtful silence. Prussia waited for his answer, calmly watching the boy (or girl, but technically a boy, but then again, _whatever_) eat his cake. Finally, he finished his cake and looked up at Prussia.

"I can't believe I'm saying this, but alright." A grin broke into Prussia's face.

"Atta boy! Now then," he gestured to their empty plates. "You know how I used food to sort of butter you up into agreement? Well, there's a reason that people say that the way to man's heart is through his stomach."

America looked at him like he was mad. "You're not seriously suggesting that I cook for people to get my points up, are you?"

"You do realize that the cakes at your place are neon, do you? Not a chance," Prussia waved the remark off. "I'm just telling you as an example of the first thing I'll teach you."

"First up: people like stuff. I'm not saying that the world is filled with those kinds of people, but for whatever reason, people like receiving gifts. I don't know, I think it's because people like the thought of receiving something they like from a person they like. Probably because of the connotation that the other knows them so well to know what they like or something like that."

"I'm distracted by the sheer amount of 'like's in that paragraph, but it oddly makes sense." America looked dumbfounded. "I can't believe I'm saying this either, but you might actually _know_ what you're talking about."

"Do you doubt me soldier?" America stiffened, much to Prussia's amusement. "What did I say about calming down? Really, I won't do anything to you…"

"As far as I know. You're not exactly the most trustworthy nation, you know."

Prussia tried to suppress a smirk. "…But I suppose that depends on how well you behave. How are your push-ups by the way? You haven't been slacking off through the centuries, eh?"

"C-cut it out!" Prussia laughed again at how hard America was quivering. "You c-can't scare me with that!"

"Maybe, but I do mean it when I say that you should really just listen first before you complain. Continuing on…" Prussia resumed talking after America had calmed down a bit. "People like being given gifts, and nations are no exception. I'm not saying you should shower them with gifts, but every now and then, you should get them something special. Another thing…" Prussia gestured to America. "Make use of your assets kid!"

"Huh?!" America unconsciously covered his chest. "You do realize that I'm not going to stay a woman forever!"

"Not that, although your rather impressive rack would admittedly help. No, what I'm talking about is your physique!" Prussia gestured to him again. "West is pretty muscular in his own right, but I bet you can give him a run for his money!"

"H-huh?!" America turned a deep red. "What… What the hell are you talking about?!"

"Trust me on this kid; girls and guys alike appreciate a good-looking guy with muscle," America turned a deeper red, albeit with a look of pride in his eyes. "While I'm talking about you, we need to talk about your personality."

"What about it?"

"That hero complex is cute and all, but don't let it go overboard. Oh, and watch what you say and read the fucking atmosphere sometimes. It'll do ya some good, ya know."

America frowned. "Well, when you put it that way, I-"

"And that's it for today's lesson!" Prussia stood up and towered over the other. "Now drop down and give me 500!" America gaped at him.

"What the fuck man, I thought you said you weren't going to train me!" Prussia huffed, the aura around him now serious, giving him an aura akin to that of a general.

"I believe I just praised you on your muscle, did I not?" Prussia asked, his tone stern. "If you plan on keeping that muscle, then you should prepare to work hard for it."

"I know that, but really this is-"

"And with that attitude of yours, you frankly need something to mellow you down." All light-heartedness was gone from the erratic Prussian in a flash.

"Prussia, I really don't think that-"

"Be quiet!" America clamped his mouth shut at the other's sharp words. "It's rude to interrupt a person, you know. Now then-"

"Dammit Prussia, I'm a woman; you can't do this to me!"

"So as your mentor, I will see to it that by the end of my tutelage, you will not only be stronger, but wiser as well." His pink and blue eyes flashed. "As for your previous statement, you're still a man in spirit and you won't be a woman for long, so that argument is invalid, no?"

"Ah…" America edged back, a 'this-is-going-to-suck-so-badly' expression clearly written all over his face. Prussia smiled.

"Well then, let's start your training!"

* * *

_You can tell that I ran out of ideas with the other ones and really just focused on America and Prussia. I'll try to provide ship tease for every pairing possible, but some might fail badly or not be included at all, so I apologize in advance. Anyways, have a good one!_

_P.S. "I'll Make a Man Out of You" and Mulan does not belong to me._


	9. Meanwhile: The Others

_It's official; this month is my lazy month. Stupid writer's blocks and fleeing plot bunnies… Eh, oh well, now for something completely different!_

_P.S. I based the weapons and attacks from a game I used to play._

_P.P.S The following personalities are my headcanons among other things._

* * *

A great door. A special symbol on the map. An area designed specifically to tell you that 'this was it, the moment you spent countless minutes, maybe even hours, on to reach'. This wasn't the first time he had seen this area, oh no, but this was the first time that he reached this area without any hint of disturbance coming in at any point of time.

This was it.

_Rap._

Ignoring that, he went through the door. A familiar sight came into view, but this time, he knew that the battle would go undisturbed. He held onto to his scythe, preparing to do battle as the boss title appeared above the creature. His skills were a bit rusty for not playing the game for a while, but that didn't mean he was incompetent. No, he's had too much practice to ever be that in video games.

_Rap, rap._

_ Z, Z, X, C, 1, Z, Dodge… _The clack of buttons ferociously being pressed filled the room. It was as if smashing those buttons could drown out the sound of someone knocking on his door.

_ Rap, rap, rap._

_ Only a few more hits…! _His attacks became more frequent, landing more criticals as the boss's HP inched closer to zero. _Just let me get through this for once…!_

_Raprapraprapra-_

"YES!" He kicked off the table, propelling the rolling chair away as he twisted around. The victory screen shown proudly on the computer screen. "I FINALLY BEAT THE BLACK AND WHITE KNIGHT OF DARKNESS DA ZE!"

"Hello Korea and sweatpants." An unexpected voice interrupted his joyous celebration. "Wow, I see you changed your glasses into a more navy blue shade. It suits you, actually."

"Ack!" Korea fell off his chair, landing on his back with his face turned towards the ceiling. As far as he knew, he hadn't heard the door open, and yet this person managed to get inside nonetheless. "Hong Kong, how the heck do you manage to come at the worse times?" His eyes traveled to the door, which had been previously locked. Key word being 'previously'. "And how the hell did you manage to break into my room?!"

"I don't know." Hong Kong looked down at the other Asian nation with blank brown eyes. He was wearing his trademark burgundy _duangua_ with black piping, yellow sash around the middle, and oversized sleeves. From where Korea was, he could see Hong Kong's puffy dark brown trousers clearly.

"Hey, you're wearing that again." Korea sat up and rubbed his head as he said the first thing that came into mind. "Haven't seen you wear that in a while."

"Yeah." The other shrugged, apparently not caring for his choice of attire. For once. Something was wrong. "So like anyways, have you seen teacher anywhere?"

"No, I haven't seen him lately." Korea tilted his head. "I haven't left this room in quite a while, so I have no idea where he is. I think he went over to Japan's house though." He looked closely at the other. "Why do you ask? Can't you call him?"

"Tried to, but he's not answering." Hong Kong took the seat Korea fell off from. "I know he went over to Japan's place, but teacher's taking longer than usual. It's a bit odd." Korea shrugged.

"He might be just staying over for a while longer than he usually does. No offense, but why did you have to bother me for this? I just beat the boss too," he pouted, which had no effect on Hong Kong.

"'Cause that Mr. Osaka guy called me a while ago saying that he can't find teacher or Japan anywhere." He lifted his chin up in recollection. "He sounded pretty panicked too."

"They disappeared?" Korea couldn't really wrap his mind around it. The whole affair sounded like it came straight from a game. "You sure he couldn't find them?"

"All I know is that Mr. Osaka had said that a new video game arrived at his house and Japan tested it out during teacher's visit." Korea's ears perked up at the mention of 'video game', but he didn't interrupt Hong Kong. "Apparently, they disappeared with a 'poof' and vanished without a trace." He made a gesture with his hands that looked like fireworks while keeping a stoic expression. It would be comical if two nations- nations close to them at that- weren't missing. "Immediately after they started the game."

"A poof?" Korea mimicked the gesture, still trying to get a sense of what happened to them. Hong Kong nodded.

"A poof."

_What. _This whole exchange was so weird. It didn't, however, change the fact that two nations were in need. "Well, what are we waiting for?" Korea stood up and adjusted his glasses. "Let's go! That's what you came here for, right? To get me to help you find them."

"Actually I wanted you to check out the video game, but sure, that works." Hong Kong got off the chair and dusted his pants. "We gotta go pass by my place though. Iceland decided not to come with me, so we have to go over there and pick him up."

"Iceland?" Korea didn't interact with the colder country that much, so it came as a surprise when he learned that Hong Kong was friends with him. _When did that happen?_ Hong Kong nodded.

"Yeah, I invited him over to hang out while teacher visited Japan, but then Mr. Osaka called so…" He whistled. "What do you think we should do though? We can't exactly go around the world looking for them. That would take money."

"We could always check out that game like you said…" The gears in Korea's head were turning. "It's what they were doing when they vanished, so I wanna go check it out."

"'Want to go check it out' or 'want to go play it'?" Korea grinned.

"Preferably both."

Hong Kong looked at him for a fraction of a second. "Alright." He shrugged and left through the door. "What are you waiting for? Let's go."

''''''

"Austria…"

Austria looked up to see Hungary putting down the phone. Hungary had come over for a short visit, and Austria had been playing for her until now. The other was wearing a sunny yellow and pink dress with a red bow, although her expression contrasted with her clothes completely. She turned towards Austria, who had stopped playing the piano.

"Is something the matter?"

"It seems that Germany is nowhere to be found…" Hungary bit her lip. "Even Prussia hasn't been accounted for…"

_Now that's strange. _"What are you talking about?" Austria stood up and walked over to the other nation. "Who had called?"

"One of Germany's brothers called me and asked if Germany was here. He's been missing for a while and no one knows where he and Prussia are." She looked at Austria with worried eyes. "Austria, this is _Germany_ we're talking about. You'd expect Prussia to go wherever without telling anyone, but for Germany to suddenly take off? Can you even remember a time when someone had to worry about where Germany was?"

"Not at all." Austria started to pace around. It was very uncharacteristic of Germany to vanish without an explanation. "This is worrying indeed… Do you know where they last were?"

"As far as I know, they didn't leave their house at all. Apparently a game had arrived at their house and Prussia had tried it out and made Germany try it out with him. When their brother checked up on them again after a while, they were both gone." Hungary looked back at the phone. "Perhaps we should call Italy's house? They could be there, and really, that's the best chance we have right now since I know for sure that they hadn't come by our houses."

"While you do that, I'll call some of the other nations to see if they know of their whereabouts." Austria started to walk away, with plans to go to the nearest telephone. His mind went back to how the brothers disappeared without a trace.

_Just what is going on here?_

* * *

_I apologize for the short update; there isn't much I could add on here without spoiling the rest of the story. Now why are these nations important? That will be revealed later in the story._


End file.
